In Honor of Halloween

Eugène Thiébault (French, b. 1825)

Henri Robin and a Specter,

1863Albumen silver print; 22.9 x 17.4 cm

Collection Gérard Lévy, Paris

One of my favorite Sunday activities is watching CBS's Sunday Morning TV magazine with my last cup of coffee. Besides news, there are many pieces that I find fascinating. This past Sunday there was a piece that included information about an exhibit at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art called The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult running September 27, 2005–December 31, 2005 in The Harriette and Noel Levine Gallery and the Howard Gilman Gallery. There are many times that I wish I lived much closer to NYC and usually it's when I see exhibits that I want to attend at the MMA.

Happy Halloween

Eastern Standard Time and Cell Phones

Early this morning, after 48 hours of providing chauffeur service for six teens going in different directions, I fell into bed exhausted. It was the kind of exhaustion that sends me into a deep, dreamless sleep before my head even hits the pillow. I woke several hours later realizing I hadn’t set any clock back to EST (alarm, microwave, and wall). I checked the cell phones and there was the current time - a lifesaver as I groggily went through the house changing all of the other clocks.

I was dragged into the cellular phone world kicking and screaming and now, just like the microwave, I don’t know how we got along without them. I know where my teens are at any given moment……as long as they answer the phone. The bill at the end of the month is more than worth the price of my peace of mind.

Should you not have a cell phone and want to check the correct time you can do it at the “Official US Time” website.

Reflection

"Is it art? In November of 1969, Apollo 12 astronaut-photographer Charles "Pete" Conrad recorded this masterpiece while documenting colleague Alan Bean's lunar soil collection activities on the Oceanus Procellarum. The image is dramatic and stark. Bean is faceless. The harsh environment of the Moon's Ocean of Storms is echoed in his helmet's perfectly composed reflection of Conrad and the lunar horizon. Works of photojournalists originally intent on recording the human condition on planet Earth, such as Lewis W. Hine's images from New York City in the early 20th century, or Margaret Bourke-White's magazine photography are widely regarded as art. Similarly many documentary astronomy and space images can be appreciated for their artistic and esthetic appeal."

This picture was used as an "Astronomy Picture of the Day" a couple years back. It was just used again by Nasa in their science news to explain:

"Which parts of an astronaut are most sensitive to solar flares?

Protecting the hips may be a key to surviving solar storms. Other sensitive areas are the shoulders, spine, thighs, sternum and skull.

Why this odd list of body parts? The bones in these areas contain marrow -- the "blood factory" of the body. Delicate bone marrow cells are especially vulnerable to solar storms; a major dose of solar protons coursing through the body could wipe them out. And without these blood-forming marrow cells churning out a steady stream of new blood cells, a person would run out of blood in as little as a week. A bone marrow transplant would be required--stat!--but they don't do those on the Moon.

So to survive a solar radiation storm, your first priority must be to protect your bone marrow."

So now you will be prepared when you take your next ride into space!

And - is this not a really great picture?

Yes! ...and Yes!

Chicago White Sox celebrate after sweeping the Houston Astros to win the World Series. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

White Sox another example of AL superiority

"For the second straight season, an American League team has thoroughly dominated a National League team in the World Series.This year the Chicago White Sox won four consecutive games against the Houston Astros – and they did it a different way each time.

One night it was flame-throwing relief pitching. The next night a game-winning home run. After that came a war of attrition in a five hour, 41 minute marathon. And finally a 1-0 squeaker.

The games were close, but the same team always won."

Steve Gardner: USATODAY.com's baseball editor.

AND

Ortiz wins AL Hank Aaron AwardDH slugger named best all-around hitter in American League.

"Ortiz burst onto the scene with the Red Sox in 2003, fresh off being released by the Twins, and clubbed 31 homers and drove in 101 runs.

The next year? All he did was belt 41 homers, knock in 139 RBIs and lead the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years with an epic October performance.

You wouldn't think a worthy encore was possible for '05, but Ortiz did just that, establishing career highs in runs (119), hits (180), homers (47), RBIs (148), total bases (363), walks (102) and OPS (1.001).

Ortiz won the award in online voting among the fans."

He got my vote!!!

5 Hours and 41 Minutes later.....

Sweep.....Sweep.....Sweep.....

In Memory of...

Sea Lilies on the Move

Being a Marine Biology major, this article from Science News Online caught my attention this morning:

Great Galloping Crinoids: Lilylike sea animal takes a brisk walk

Excerpts from the article:

"A video has caught an underwater animal, which looks like a flower, practically jogging along the ocean bottom...

Crinoids, which are relatives of starfish and sea urchins, once had achieved such abundance and diversity that paleontologists refer to the period 350 million years ago as the age of crinoids. Today, only two main forms remain...

A stalked crinoid pulled itself along the bottom briskly enough for a viewer to notice. Baumiller and Charles Messing of Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach, Fla., measured its pace at 140 m per hour. Baumiller presented the video in Salt Lake City on Oct. 16 at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America."

Fascinating!

In Memory of...

Cheering the White Sox

“If you love the Red Sox, you've simply got to love the White Sox. In this town (Boston), they're telling us that White is the new Red. “




And as much as an Astros win will increase the value of my son’s Roger Clemens rookie card - we’re cheering the White Sox. My ear will be tuned to the radio (if you can’t be there, this is my favorite way to catch a game!) following pitch by pitch.

If there is a curse greater than the one that followed the Red Sox for 86 years it is the one that haunts the White Sox:

“The 1919 White Sox did something to earn a lifetime of hardball purgatory. They threw the World Series. And they have not won another one since. It is the big, dirty secret that no one wants to talk about as Chicago prepares to play host to the World Series for the first time since the ChiSox were beaten by the Dodgers in '59. Counting the Black Sox scandal, the Second City has lost the last seven (five by the Cubs) World Series played here. The last time Chicago had a baseball champion was in 1917, which was the year before Boston beat the Cubs, which was a year before the White Sox took money to lose.

It's all there in John Sayles's excellent movie, ''Eight Men Out" (John Cusack does a great Buck Weaver), or the book (same title by Eliot Asinof). Angry at cheapskate owner Charles Comiskey, eight of the White Sox, including all-world Shoeless Joe Jackson, took cash to intentionally lose the World Series to the Reds. They were beaten, five games to three, in a best-of-nine event. Two years later, after they were acquitted in a bag-job trial, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned them for life. And the White Sox never won again.”

…”Which is why it's important for the White Sox to do what the Red Sox did and put the Black Sox to bed, just as the '04 Red Sox buried the great Bambino. “

(A matter of changing your Sox
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | October 22, 2005)


Go White Sox!

More photos from space...

Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. 2 Nov. 2004. "Astronaut Photography of Earth - Quick View." <http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/QuickView.pl?directory=ESC&ID=ISS007-E-17771> (19 Oct. 2005).

Portland's harbor and the Jetport - very cool!

Blue Marble

The Blue Marble: Next Generation is a series of images that show the color of the Earth’s surface for each month of 2004 (March pictured here) at very high resolution (500 meters/pixel) at a global scale. (NASA image courtesy Reto Stöckli and Robert Simmon)



A full moon is visible in this view above Earth’s atmospheric limb. Astronaut photograph ISS010-E-18583 was acquired February 24, 2005, with a Kodak 760C digital camera with an 800 mm lens.


I love Nasa's Earth Observatory web site. This week they are highlighting new "Blue Marble" imagery:

"In celebration of the deployment of its Earth Observing System, NASA is pleased to share the newest in its series of stunning Earth images, affectionately named the “Blue Marble.” This new Earth imagery enhances the Blue Marble legacy by providing a detailed look at an entire year in the life of our planet. In sharing these Blue Marble images, NASA hopes the public will join with the agency in its continuing exploration of our world from the unique perspective of space."

There is also an article on astronaut photography from the International Space Station - "The Art of Science":

"Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have many tasks, but a consistent favorite is taking photographs of Earth. The ISS astronauts don’t just take digital images randomly. The photos they shoot are part of a well-defined program of data collection coordinated through the Crew Earth Observations team at Johnson Space Center. Current research targets include glaciers, deltas, urban areas, coral reefs, megafans (inland deltas), and long-term ecological monitoring sites."

A freely accessible internet database of their pictures is here.

The sun and the moon...

Finally, the sun is shining. It feels as though we haven't seen it for months rather than weeks. The trees are still changing color and not too many actually lost their leaves during all that wind this past weekend.

It's also a full moon today. I watched it set early this morning. The full moon this month is called:

Full Hunter's Moon - October With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can easily see fox and the animals which have come out to glean.

The full moon has a different name as it occurs in each month. You can go to the Farmer's Almanac site for a nice description of the folklore.

Rockwell Kent

Early November: North Greenland
(Hermitage)

Seal Hunter: North Greenland
(Hermitage)

I spent time last night visiting the Rockwell Kent exhibit, at the PMA , one last time before the show closes on Sunday. The last time I walked though the exhibit (three weeks ago) I was shoring up my courage up to face the breakup of a two year relationship. This time I walked through the exhibit with my best friend - and new friends.

Kent's ability to paint snow astounds me. Digital and print pictures do not do justice to the way he captures light; each painting seemingly lit from within.

"Kent went on to Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, and finally
Greenland,where he produced spectacular landscapes
in clean modernist forms, bathed in seductive light.
In ''Early November: North Greenland" (1932),
Kent makes a jiving tonal rhythm of the 80-proof sunlight
and long shadowsof late afternoon. The glaciers' pale
faces shinehot against the chill blue of the shadows,
and a skein of goldruns across the water as it hits
the cold shore."
Boston Globe


" Picture a Temperate sea and mountain view; Clear day,
lateafternoon in fall; blue sea, and golden-purple shadowed
land, andpale-blond lower sky; purple to gold, pale
light to deep-toned madder.Now, into that, like a shaft
of sunlight into a lamplit room, likeviolins and flutes
above the bass, high-pitched, ethereally pure, so clean,
sharp, dazzling that it almost hurts, see ice appear. The
pale-gold sky is somber now; sea, sky, and land are of
one low tonality against which sings that poignant whiteness."

Rockwell Kent - Salamina

A really nice description of the exhibit can be found here. More information about Rockwell Kent can be found here.

East Village Opera Company

This is a fantastic CD! I first heard East Village Opera Company yesterday during my commute home on our public radio station. They were being interviewed on the Global Hit segment of The World. Sometimes you hear something and you know - this is it. That is how they hit me - I was bowled over. During errands last night I picked up their CD at my favorite BullMoose store and played it immediately. Even my 14 year old was impressed and had me play the first cut - Overture from Le Nozze di Figaro - over and over again. Incorporated in this redux is an organ part from "Won't get fooled Again" by Peter Townsend. It sends the senses soaring.

From their MySpace music site:

"The East Village Opera Company —a powerhouse five-piece band, a string quartet, and two outstanding vocalists—brings the towering emotion and timeless musicality of opera into the 21st century on its Decca/Universal Classics debut with its inventive, hard-hitting arrangements of the music’s “greatest hits”—including “La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto, “Habanera” from Carmen, and “Nessun dorma” from Turandot — performed at full length and in the original languages.

The concept of the East Village Opera Company is totally fresh, but not unprecedented in pop. In 1985, for example, former punk-rock impresario Malcolm McLaren released Fans, an album of “hip-hopera” that brought funky beats and electronic programming to the works of Puccini and Bizet. But EVOC is a whole new thing: an integrated, eleven-strong working band dedicated to rocking the opera and electrifying the classics, as the ensemble has been doing to spectacular effect ever since its New York stage debut in the spring of 2004."

Check out a short video here.

Literary Awards

And the Nobel Prize for Literature: Harold Pinter

"who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms"

And while we're discussing prizes: National Book Awards. Interesting that I tried get the list via the website and it wasn't published there.

The Quills Awards will be broadcast on October 22nd. Some of the winners were my choice and others were not.

Go White Sox

We had a long discussion, last night, about who to cheer for during the AL/NL playoffs. The final consensus was that as a household we would support the White Sox. The White Sox have had an even longer drought World Series wise; they haven't won since 1917. Knowing the giddy exultation experienced as Red Sox fan last year, I wish that for all White Sox fans.

Great cover art!

Tea Leaves

Every once in a while when I need a little spiritual guidance I have my tea leaves read at Willa's.

This week's reading went like this:

Reading No. 34

Isn't it amazing how much of ourselves we put into people, places, and situations, and then, when we remove ourselves, we find it was only ourselves there and not the others. ~ Pearl A. Burrows

Even though we are always the center of our own universe, we sometimes need to be reminded that we are not the center of everyone else's.

You can't expect the rest of the world to walk to your rhythm.

Walk to your own rhythm.

The Sun

Well, I know where all the fall color is - surrounding Montreal. NASA's Earth Observatory sends out a weekly newsletter highlighting new investigations and imagery. The web site's purpose "is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth’s climate and environmental change". Breaking News on the site included this article on climate change:"SUN’S DIRECT ROLE IN GLOBAL WARMING MAY BE UNDERESTIMATED, DUKE PHYSICISTS REPORT."

I'm reading a new book by Arthur Clarke and Steven Baxter's book "Sunstorm".

"Set in the same universe as Clarke's 2001 and its sequels, Clarke and Baxter's second and final Time Odyssey book (after 2004's Time's Eye) will especially appeal to fans of hard SF who appreciate well-grounded science and humans with a can-do attitude to problem solving. In 2037, the same day the enigmatic alien Firstborn return Bisea Dutt, the heroine of Time's Eye, to her home in London, the city grinds to a halt as a sun storm sends a massive surge of energy to Earth, temporarily destroying the world's electronic infrastructure. This surge presages another, much larger sun storm, due to hit in 2042, which will utterly annihilate life across the globe. Against all odds, the nations of Earth come together to construct a huge space umbrella that will shield the planet from the worst of the barrage." (Publisher's Weekly)

It is a good story and interesting science (fiction and truth) for thought.

A site to check out the sun's daily activity is the Space Weather site. They have great galleries of aurora photographs and lots of other interesting Space info.

Meanwhile, we are waiting for the sun to show itself here. Last week was all fog, then the rains came (close to 7 inches for us over a couple days), and now just cloudy gray gloom with more rain predicted later this week.

Cheering for the Angels.....

As a true Red Sox fan I cheer for the Red Sox and anyone who can beat the Yankees. Ahhh, I'm cheering loudly for the Angels, the White Sox, the Cardinals and the Astros. I am so thrilled to see that the largest payroll in baseball history won't be going any further. Life is good!

Photolife Magazine

I found Photolife at Borders. It is a Canadian publication supported in part by the Canadian government. The articles and the pictures are amazing. Although I don’t think I will spring for back issues I may give myself a subscription for Christmas.

Clearing my head with Sudoku

Thank you - today is a holiday and I could sleep in. I didn’t hit the bed until 12:30 AM this morning after spending over 3 hours trying to clean up my son’s computer. He opened an AIM message from a friend, went to a link, and ended up with the “Freeprod” virus on his computer. I was finally able to remove it by using the “add/remove” function on the control panel. I’m still not sure if I have taken care of it. As much as I love computers this type of thing is a major annoyance.

To keep my head clear while I was working on the computer, I did a couple of Sudoku puzzles. I am “addicted” to the simplicity and logic and try to complete a couple a day. I first heard about them via a BBC online story. Apparently a great many of the UK commuting nation are also addicted. Although you can find puzzles on line I wanted something to play with while I waited out soccer and football games. So I went to Borders and was surprised when I realized I was “late” - there was a large display of Sudoku books. I picked a couple and found the best was “Master Sudoku” by Carol Vorderman. She starts off with a large group of easy puzzles and works her way through medium and difficult puzzles; giving tips and techniques along the way. It was great beginner book. However, I found that my ability to solve the difficult puzzles declined rapidly. I have left her book for a while and moved on to “Sudoku Easy Vol. 1” By Will Shortz. I can’t put the numbers into the puzzle fast enough as it all falls into place - elegant and immensely satisfying.

Power Outage

I was up at 3:00AM this morning reading and listening to the rain and wind. I am a voracious reader; continually checking out the selections at the Library, Borders and Amazon. Yesterday I picked up “Private Demon” by Lynn Viehl and had read a good deal of it last evening while on the stationary bike listening to the Yankee’s game (they lost to the Angels - Yes!!!). Waking up at 2:30 - 3:00 AM seems to have become a habit. I wake, go through the house turning off anything run by electricity and left on by my sons (who could sleep though WMD easily). Then I go back to bed and read for an hour or so. This morning I wanted to finish Lynn’s book. It is the second in the Darkyn series and was very good. I have followed Lynn ‘s books and web blogs over the past few years. Her female characters are kick-ass smart and call it as they see it. I like that!

I finished the book and turned out the light at 3:45 AM, hoping for another couple hours of sleep. Within a minute the power went out and the house was silent. I got up and called the power company. Then I tried to get back to sleep. My attempt was fitful; tossing and turning, listening to the rain on my windows for about three hours until the power came back on. Power outages leave me edgy . I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to live through the devastation left by the recent hurricanes. Each day I take for granted the ability to do all those little chores: laundry, dishes, cooking, making coffee, writing blogs. So today I am reminded to be thankful for the small stuff.

Red Sox

Lost.

The 2005 season is over.

Chris Botti

And another release of note on October 18th, my very favorite trumpeter, Chris Botti. His Cd is entitled "To Love Again". I've ordered it through Sony records 'cause they always give me a little extra. This time a free download and a poster. The download is "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" with Sting. It is perfect. Chris cradles his horn like a lover and creates beautiful music.

Shirley Horn

"But Beautiful: The Best of Shirley Horn on Verve" to be released on October 11th.

As much as I love the music it is often the lyrics that touch my soul. In the case of Shirley Horn this song resonates:


Here’s To Life

No complaints and no regrets.
I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets.
But I have learned that all you give is all you get so you give it all you got.
I had my share. I drank my fill, and even though I’m satisfied I’m hungry still to see what’s down another road, beyond a hill, and do it all again.
So here’s to life and all the joy it brings.
Here’s to life the dreamers and their dreams.
Funny how the time just flies.
How love can turn from warm hellos to sad goodbyes and leave you with the memories you’ve memorized to keep your winters warm.
There’s no yes in yesterday.
And who knows what tomorrow brings or takes away.
As long as I’m still in the game I want to play for laughs, for life, for love.
So here’s to life and all the joy it brings.
Here’s to life.
The dreamers and their dreams.
May all your storms be weathered.
And all that’s good get better.
Here’s to life.
Here’s to love.
And here’s to you.


Two weeks into recovering from a broken heart and I'm sad for sure but "hungry still to see what’s down another road, beyond a hill and do it all again."

And the Peace Prize goes to......

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2005

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2005 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.

At a time when the threat of nuclear arms is again increasing, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to underline that this threat must be met through the broadest possible international cooperation. This principle finds its clearest expression today in the work of the IAEA and its Director General. In the nuclear non-proliferation regime, it is the IAEA which controls that nuclear energy is not misused for military purposes, and the Director General has stood out as an unafraid advocate of new measures to strengthen that regime. At a time when disarmament efforts appear deadlocked, when there is a danger that nuclear arms will spread both to states and to terrorist groups, and when nuclear power again appears to be playing an increasingly significant role, IAEA's work is of incalculable importance." (nobelprize.org)


I am glad this group was recognized. I grew up in the 60's with a bomb shelter in my basement and "drop and roll" practices at school during 1st through 4th grades. I have many books in my personal library about the development of the bomb and the subsequent destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I always wonder what is ahead for my children; what kind of a world are they inheriting.

Where are the Autumn Colors?

We've been blanketed in fog for the last three days. It advances inland at night and retreats a bit during the day; hugging the immediate coastline continually. If we could get some sun then the autumn colors would finally be seen. Many of the trees that were green this past weekend are now showing color. Unfortunately the forecast is for rain over the next few days so we won't really be able to see the show until Sunday at the earliest.

Leonardo the Scientist

I get a weekly newsletter from NASA Science News. This week's article is on Da Vinci and his observations about the moon; in particular, recognizing that earthshine can produce enough light to illuminate that dark side during the crescent phase.

Red Sox...

Home games and Tim Wakefield...if anyone can keep hope alive he can! May history repeat itself.....

(I love this logo from 1934.)

Following the Nobel Awards...

Following the Nobel Awards.....

The Nobel Peace Prize is announced on Friday. I am waiting to hear the announcement for Literature - scheduled for later this month.

I have a special place in my heart for Norway. In 1974, as my junior college year abroad, I participated in a program called Scandinavian Seminar. For my year in Norway I attended Akadamiet i Rauland. It was a fantastic year of culture, food, wonderful people, and cross country skiing.

On to Chicago!

Following the Red Sox game by game has more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. On to the playoffs!

Leaf Peeping and Climate Change...

Has anyone noticed that the leaves aren't turning color so early anymore? The swamp maples used to start showing a bit of red late August / early September. Now it's early October and I can hardly find a leaf that's turned color anywhere. I looked for any "autumn" leaves Saturday during my bike ride and came up with the picture at the top of this entry. I really had to pay attention though - it's still a sea of green out there.

So...is it climate change? When I first moved to Maine, 30 years ago, I remember really cool, crisp autumns; I needed gloves and a jacket every morning. Now I'm still getting along nicely (warmly) with bare legs and flip flops. I'm not complaining though. I will gladly put off heating the house for as long as possible.

But really - wasn't Columbus Day weekend the big leaf-peeper travel weekend in years past?

Morning Coffee

I love coffee.

I love how it smells.

I love how it tastes.

There is nothing like a good cup of coffee to start the day. I love my French Press coffee maker by Bodum. The current press is a model called Brazil made of impact resistant plastic (replacing two glass pots that I have broken so far!) that I found on the net. It was on sale and, even with shipping, the cost was less than purchasing it here.

I like trying out different varieties of beans and try to locate Fair Trade coffees. My current is not. But, it is a really nice Brazillian Arabica that produces a smooth cup of coffee. I've heard that a couple cups a day is beneficial too:

Coffee is Healthier Than You Think

Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), Australia - Sep 25, 2005

"Coffee probably contributes many more healthy antioxidants to your diet than fruit and vegetables, according to US scientists.

They measured the antioxidant content of more than 100 different foods including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils and beverages.

The findings were then combined with data from the US Department of Agriculture on each item's contribution to the average American's diet.

Coffee was the biggest source of antioxidants per serving and level of consumption.

It was followed by black tea, bananas, dry beans and corn.

"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source - nothing else comes close," said the head researcher Joe Vinson, of Scranton University in Pennsylvania.

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee appeared to provide similar antioxidant levels."

Red Sox......2nd and 3rd chance

Ok, so the Yankees are the AL East Champs. There is still a lot of baseball to play. No matter what happens tomorrow the worst outcome is another day of baseball on Monday to decide the AL wildcard slot. And, if there is baseball on Monday, it will be aganst a team that I saw them defeat in June at Fenway. Go Red Sox!

Fresh Yogurt

Ever since I read "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano I have been making fresh yogurt weekly to add to my breakfast soy protein shake. Menopause paces back and forth in front of my door. At 53 I thought I would be well into transition. Nope! To have to worry as much about pregnancy now as I did at 23 is a real bummer.

But, Mireille was right - there is nothing like the taste of fresh yogurt. Its acidic bite and texture is far superior to commercial products. I make mine in a 1 quart Salton maker using the last half cup from the previous batch as a starter. After her book came out last winter, you couldn't find a yogurt maker anywhere. I finally was able to find one via the internet in June. Now it looks like supply has finally caught up with demand.

Another Red Sox Win...

I do have some nails left - desperately in need of a manicure. The Red Sox won the first of the final three games of the season against the Yankees. With two to go, could there be more suspense or excitement for a Red Sox fan?