The Explorers Club
№ CCLXV - The hard-fighting, hard-drinking life & times of John Manners, Marquess of Granby (1721-1770).









Operation AXIOM
A year ago to the day, 11 December 2010 (stylized as 12.11.10), your humble narrator was in Ann Arbor for The Big Chill at the Big House, & thus became, for the second time in his life, part of the largest crowd ever to attend an ice hockey game. The Big Chill was a spectacle, combining the largest-ever crowd with fireworks, a flyover by a B-2 stealth bomber, & an immensely enjoyable victory, Michigan 5-0 Michigan State. 'Twas one of the ages, a gay old time I shan't ever forget.

Go Blue!

The Victors: Project OSPREY
Saturday, 10 December
(№ 20) Michigan 90-80 Oakland
7-2, Big Ten 0-0

The display the valiant Wolverines put on against the epithetless Golden Grizzlies was distressing. Yes, the Maize & Blue prevailed, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Michigan drop out of the Top 25 after such a sorry spectacle. In the first half, the valiant Wolverines built up a fourteen-point lead, only to let it slip through their fingers thanks to double-digit turnovers; an Oakland three-pointer just before the buzzer meant the teams went into halftime tied, 32-32. In the second half, the valiant Wolverines built up a fifteen-point lead, only to see the epithetless Golden Grizzlies pare it down to six before the fouls & free throws of the last minute stabilized Michigan's edge at ten points. Being able to prevail over a competent, if unspectacular opponent even when putting in a subpar performance is encouraging, I suppose, but the discouraging part of yesterday's contest was the Jekyll & Hyde nature of the valiant Wolverines' play. Consistency, lads, consistency! We must achieve a superior degree of consistency!

But I suppose I should be less harsh in my critiques. After all, these are young men & the season itself is yet young. Plenty of time to correct bad habits & techniques. A win is a win, & I should be grateful for the win. I am grateful for the win. Congratulations, you valiant Wolverines! Keep up the good work.

Go Blue!

Urbi et Orbi
There weren't any babies located near my mother & me at Mass today. Of late, it has seemed as if Holy Redeemer is lousy with babies, & they are a delightful addition to the proceedings, even moreso since I've been an uncle. We have a crying room, but unless the wee bairn cries incessantly I hold that they should be in the nave with the rest of the parish; a little fussing reaffirms the vitality of the parish, the future of the Church. I mug at babies whenever we make eye contact, sticking my tongue out at them & making silly faces. Sometimes they stare blankly, sometimes they smile brightly, sometimes they look away in minor panic. I love making faces at babies & shall not stop unless & until His Holiness the Pope commands me to stop.

I am on track to attend Mass between thirty-six & thirty-nine times this year, well short of the goal of fifty-two Masses I set myself every New Year, but better than I've done since record-keeping began in 2008: '08, thirty-two; '09, thirty-three; '10, thirty-two. I could still technically make fifty-two if I arose early every day to attend morning Mass, but 'twould be abominable to do so, since I'd be attending Mass for my own aggrandizement, not in worshipful deference to the Lord Almighty. My immortal soul is imperiled enough without that additional sin of pride.

A Thousand Words
The photograph below is apropos of nothing beyond the magnificence of the photograph itself. No tree-hugger am I, but I've no particular objection to wind power, as long as it is economically competitive with other sources. (I am an ardent fan of solar power because I love the idea of using the Accursed Sun's own energy to defeat its twin death rays of heat & nuclear radiation, but that's neither here nor there.) The photograph in question:



The Queue
I didn't expect much from a book co-authored by Guillermo del Toro, & he lived down to expectations. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Recently
Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars
Christopher Moore, Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story
Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Golden, & Troy Nixey, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies

Currently
John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

Presently
Christopher Moore, You Suck: A Love Story
Christopher Moore, Bite Me: A Love Story
David Ignatius, Body of Lies
Len Deighton, City of Gold

The Rebel Black Dot Christmas Songs of the Day
Sufjan Stevens, "The Friendly Beasts" from Songs for Christmas (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: 'Tis the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday. Rejoice!

"Jesus, our brother, strong and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude,
And the friendly beasts around him stood,
Jesus, our brother, strong and good."

Samstag, 10 Dezember
The Puppini Sisters, "Mele Kalikimaka" from Christmas with The Puppini Sisters (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Chosen in honor of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which I saw last night for the first time since the cinema. 'Tis such a deftly-crafted film.

"Mele kalikimake is Hawaii's way
To say, 'Merry Christmas!' to you."