The Explorers Club
No. CXXX - The Falkirk Wheel.








Believe: Red Wings 5-2 Blackhawks
Nine down, seven to go. Best of seven: Detroit 1-0 Chicago.

Not that I habitually wear a hat—in fact, rare indeed are the occasions on which you'd find my head covered—but the phrase still conveys the intended sentiment: my hat's off to Chicago goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, because he was dynamite during a flurry of shots by the Red Wings in the second period. Had he not stood on his head, the score might easily have been 7-2, even without Zetterberg's empty net goal. That said, therein lies the Blackhawks' doom, because for all his dynamism Khabibulin still gave up four goals, and the Wings' attack will remain relentless. You cannot hope to stop Detroit's offense, you can hope only to contain it; Chicago will need a new strategy in order to contain the multifaceted potency of the Red Wings.

Take a minute to let it sink in, kids: the Red Wings need fewer victories ahead than they have behind to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the first team to do so since these selfsame Detroit Red Wings in 1996-97 & '97-98. History is calling. Will you accept the charges? Go Wings!

Believe.

The Queue
Recently
C. S. Harris, Why Mermaids Sing
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Currently
Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None a.k.a. Ten Little Indians a.k.a. Ten Little Niggers

Presently
Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express
David M. Friedman, The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever
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Kim Newman, Dracula Cha Cha Cha

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, "Born in Chicago" from Blues Brothers 2000: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)