Urbi et Orbi
Yesterday, I attended my thirty-eighth Mass of this year. (Calendar year, as yesterday was also the first day of a new liturgical year.) I will fall well short of the goal of attending at least fifty-two Masses this year, but the provisional thirty-eight does best last year's total of thirty-seven Masses, previously the best attendance record since record-keeping began in '08. "Provisional thirty-eight" because the end o' the year, Advent & the Christmastide, habitually results in a flurry of church-attendance. I log my attendance not as a badge of pride (deadliest of the Seven Deadly Sins), but as a means of goading myself into greater obedience to His commandment regarding the Sabbath. My great hope is that greater obedience will lead to greater piety.

This Week in Motorsport
The week 'fore last I threatened two "This Week in Motorsport" posts, but only published one. There was no "This Week in Motorsport" at all last week, & I am desperately far behind. I hope there will be two this week, in addition to a raft of other material.

Rally Monkey
World Rally Championship
Round 13
Rally de España
Friday-Sunday, 9-11 November 2012

The '12 World Rally Championship (W.R.C.) ended as it began, with nine-time World Champion Sébastien Loeb victorious. Loeb won nine of the year's thirteen rallies, with a lovely symmetry of having won the first & last rallies, the third & third-from-last (eleventh) rallies, & the middle five. "Flying Finn" Jari-Matti Latvala finished second in his last rally for the Ford factory team, & repeatedly expressed astonished dismay at the end of every stage; he'd push as hard as he could, having greatly increased his pace on tarmac (as opposed to snow or gravel) over the course of the year, only to find that he'd lost anywhere from tenths of seconds to tens of seconds to the Alsatian Frenchman. Latvala simply had nothing for Loeb, even as he bested the rest of the field.

Loeb is semi-retiring from the W.R.C., & will contest only a partial schedule for Citroën, in a third car at those select rallies. Defending Manufacturers' Champions Citroën will field the full-time duo of Mikko Hirvonen, who finished second in this year's Drivers' standings, & Dani Sordo, returning to Citroën after several largely fruitless years with the semi-works Mini team. Ford are withdrawing as a factory squad, though they will still provide support for customer Fiestas, including the M-Sport squad who ran the factory effort. The now-privateer M-Sport effort will be lead by Mads Østberg & Olympic medal-winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, with standout lower category driver Juho Hänninen to contest a limited calendar. Volkswagen will enter the fray next year with talented drivers Latvala & Loeb's youthful nemesis, Sébastien Ogier. Hyundai are confirmed to run a partial-season schedule, ahead of a full-year effort in '14; drivers are yet to be announced. '03 World Champion Petter Solberg, the last man to win the world title besides Loeb, is likely to continue as a privateer, if funding can be found, having previously said that he'd drive for free if that was the only way to stay in the W.R.C.

Loeb is said to be preparing to lead Citroën's entry into the World Touring Car Championship in '14, & owns his own team that competes in G.T. racing & the European Le Mans Series; so, here's hoping we'll see him against at the 24 Heures du Mans.

2011 W.R.C.
Round 3, Power Stage
Rally de Portugal
Sunday, 27 March 2011

Last year, the W.R.C. was given extensive coverage on the cable channel Velocity, formerly Discovery H.D. Theater. This year, there was no such reurn to velocity & it was not 'til mid-year that I became aware of Speed's most welcome but still somewhat minimal W.R.C. coverage. (Velocity broadcast five hours every rally weekend, including hour-long programs on each day of a rally; Speed broadcasts just the one-hour weekend review.) Several weeks ago, I noticed a rally program in the Velocity listings, & programmed the D.V.R. to capture this possible golden nugget. Alas, what I found was a rerun of some of '11's coverage. Curses! As it is, the Power Stage is my least-favorite part of any rally, but something is better than nothing.

Part of the problem this year was with the W.R.C.'s basic programming, that programming's producer having gone out of business rather at the last minute. This year's rallies were covered on an ad hoc basis; so, it is possible Speed broadcast everything there was to broadcast. Next year sees the return of a stable ('tis hoped), full-season programming provider; let us hope that with this comes more coverage on American television.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
LCD Soundsystem, "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Originally a recommendation of Mrs. Skeeter, Esq. I thank her.

"New York, you're perfect,
Don't, please don't change a thing.
Your mild billionaire mayor's
Now convinced he's a king.
And so the boring collect,
I mean all disrespect…"