Who would you send this beauty to?  Or maybe you’d want to just frame it and keep it for yourself!

(Can you tell that I am working on honing my marketing skills?)

On the soccer front (not that I’ve exhausted the above topic, mind you) Les Bleus are gone (mercifully, it would seem) and the US Men need a big win!  (Okay … they don’t actually need a win … or a big win .. but it sure would help some of us relax!  (Ski, are you with me there?)

Here are the possible scenarios, from USSoccer:

USA SCENARIOS:

USA Advances:

* U.S. win

* U.S. tie and England loss

* Tie and England-Slovenia tie, and the U.S. maintains it’s +2 goals scored advantage (USA 3 GF, England 1 GF)

USA Eliminated:

* U.S. tie and England win

* Lose

USA Advances and Wins Group:

* Win by a greater goal difference than England wins by

* Win and England win by same goal differential while the U.S. maintains its +2 goals scored advantage

* Win by two or more goals and England / Slovenia tie

* Win by one goal and England / Slovenia tie while scoring more goals than Slovenia

As I said … the US needs a BIG win!

Aimee Mann had her first taste of fame in 1985 when her band, ‘Til Tuesday, hit the Billboard Top 10 with their song “Voices Carry.” Five years later Mann left the group to begin a solo career and since then she has released nine albums (including the soundtrack to the film Magnolia which scored her an Oscar nomination, a live album, and a Christmas record), the most recent of which is 2008’s @#%&*! Smilers.

Over the last 18 years Mann has been signed to a major label, left to languish on said major label, gone indie, and secured a ferocious fan base that has already scooped up enough tickets to sell out much of her upcoming tour. Beloved for her uncanny ability to distill the anguish of lost love and the surprises and disappointments of everyday life into gorgeous, four minute melodic folk rock packages, Mann chatted with us about her saddest song, her new hobby painting the worst presidents in American history, and trying to nail her single speaking line on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Meanwhile – the Sol lost at home on Wednesday.  Their first home loss … and I wasn’t even paying attention.

And things are heating up between the Dems in Congress and the CIA.

Levi has weighed in with some Palin poop.

The Phillies won …Red Sox lost … I’m NOT rooting for Lance … and what’s with the Phillies talking to Pedro?  They need pitching, but Pedro?  Isn’t he kind of old and whiney?

Oh, and HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew had some more dead trees taken down at the lake … looks like I’ll have plenty of firewood come September … thanks, guys!!!

Everyone’s read, if they follow her at all, about how she is blaming the press for the public’s perceptions of her … and stepping up to protect her family from those evil liberal journalists (and that darned Katie Couric in particular).

Apparently whales aren’t as lucky -- our Sarah is working hard to throw the big guys under the proverbial bus in favor of gas and oil producers.  Specifically, she is fighting additional protections mandated under the Endangered Species Act for the Beluga Whale … scientific evidence be damned!

From the ridiculous to the sublime …we move on to Michelle Obama and a cool-looking site I just came upon called Michelle Obama Watch.  It looks like it’s a  site where readers can offer commentary on things having to do with our First Lady.  Let’s watch it!

Meanwhile, President Obama is talking turkey to the GOP … not being divisive, mind you, but very clear and very direct.  I love it (in my still-slightly-divisive little heart of hearts!

Speaking of hearts, check out this musical blessing to Barack Obama and his new Presidency from the Portsmouth-based a Capella group Voices from the Heart.  (Thanks, Paula R, for sharing this …are you in the video?  I didn’t see you -- at least not on the first try!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dgQFG3HCjU

No football today … have you noticed? We do, however, have some good women’s college b-ball games.  Maybe Pat Summit will win #999 today!  It’s a tough match-up against Nell Fortner’s undefeated Auburn team … on a sad day … on ESPNU at 2PM ET!  Then there’s UNC- Maryland tonight.

But for now, here is Elizabeth Alexander reading Ars Poetica #92:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lC9Vyhir2Y

… and here is a reading by aichlee of the venus hottentot by Ms. Alexander.  The reading by aichlee reminds me a little of Jill Scott’s musical voice -- lovely.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziDenpK_mZM

… and here is a lovely, disturbing poem by EA titled Blues … from Poets.org …

Blues
by Elizabeth Alexander

I am lazy, the laziest
girl in the world. I sleep during
the day when I want to, ’til
my face is creased and swollen,
’til my lips are dry and hot. I
eat as I please: cookies and milk
after lunch, butter and sour cream
on my baked potato, foods that
slothful people eat, that turn
yellow and opaque beneath the skin.
Sometimes come dinnertime Sunday
I am still in my nightgown, the one
with the lace trim listing because
I have not mended it. Many days
I do not exercise, only
consider it, then rub my curdy
belly and lie down. Even
my poems are lazy. I use
syllabics instead of iambs,
prefer slant to the gong of full rhyme,
write briefly while others go
for pages. And yesterday,
for example, I did not work at all!
I got in my car and I drove
to factory outlet stores, purchased
stockings and panties and socks
with my father’s money.

To think, in childhood I missed only
one day of school per year. I went
to ballet class four days a week
at four-forty-five and on
Saturdays, beginning always
with plie, ending with curtsy.
To think, I knew only industry,
the industry of my race
and of immigrants, the radio
tuned always to the station
that said, Line up your summer
job months in advance. Work hard
and do not shame your family,
who worked hard to give you what you have.
There is no sin but sloth. Burn
to a wick and keep moving.

I avoided sleep for years,
up at night replaying
evening news stories about
nearby jailbreaks, fat people
who ate fried chicken and woke up
dead. In sleep I am looking
for poems in the shape of open
V’s of birds flying in formation,
or open arms saying, I forgive you, all.

Last … but surely not least … an inspiring piece about Obama’s work-out regimen -- that I will assuredly be taking to heart in a few days when the resolutions kick in (as I have every confidence they will this year)!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMbtzalS3u8

.. kinda hard to imagine Pia and picture how she’d choreograph this one … hope there’s video!

So bottom line: be sure to tune in on Sunday for a Women’s Soccer double header. You can catch the NCAA College Cup final at 2 p.m. ET and then the USA-North Korea World Cup Final at 4:30 p.m. ET!

If you’ve got the DI semi-finals recorded and  don’t want to know what happened in women’s NCAA soccer action yesterday, stop reading here.  (We’ll be recording tomorrow, as we’ll be in Lewiston for a 21st birthday brunch -- YES!)  Anyway -assuming all eyes have been averted except those who want to see -- here’s the scoop …

The DI finals will pit Notre Dame against UNC after both won in 1-goal semi’s. Yael Averbuch put UNC to the final wth a PK in the first half.  The Fighting Irish won on a goal by freshman Courtney Barg (assisted by fellow first year Melissa Henderson) and have a chance to become the first team other than UNC to win at least three national championships in women’s soccer.

In DIII action,  Wheaton downed Williams to move on to the finals against Messiah at 5PM today in Greensboro, NC.  (The write-up on the NCAA site is pulled from the Wiliams athletic department site … in case it struck you, as it did me, as a tad Eph-centric!)

In DII Albany’s Saint Rose got absolutely pummeled by West Florida, who will now meet Seattle Pacific this afternoon in the DII Final in Tampa.  So it’s kind of an all soccer weekend, don’t you think?  (The other exciting athletic event to watch wil be the Eagles’ resounding defeat of the Giants … but I digress!)

On the “other stuff” front -- I’m working on developing a JordanCornblog logo so that I can be more like Boltgirl and sell mugs and T-shirts in my own shop on CafePress.   (Just for fun -- don’t worry -- no pressure on anyone!)  What do you think of this picture, for starters … JordanCornblog (I was hoping to be able to upload it -- but apparently can’t -- at least not yet.)

How refreshing is it to even be able to contemplate such a subject!?

Timothy Leary couldn’t have made this up. Please – just see this…

Now I can die fulfilled.

Speaking of the Phillies – what a wild and wooly game.  The ref blew a call in the 7th that let the Rays back into the game, and I was getting that sinking feeling.  We lost our satellite connection in the crazy rainstorms that swept through NH at the start of the eighth, so I switched to the computer … and then (running out of steam) to the radio … but managed to stay conscious ’til Carlos Ruiz’ grounder brought Eric Bruntlett home.  Phew – the Phils are up 2-1!

Arianna Huffington, meanwhile, has taken a pause in punditing (no doubt catching her breath before the stretch run) to share with us a compendium of video awesomeness!  Some of it’s already been posted here – but there’s great new stuff (at least to me) that’s worth a look.  Enjoy!

Oh yeah … and PB, here’s what Tracy Grammer’s up to these days …

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdNgMKPV9xQ

Thanks, ChristopherCornblog!

Voter suppression is a core strategy of the GOP -- and it’s a threat to the fabric of our democracy.  Share this … get the word out!

From the scary … to the ridiculous … read about how Governor Palin and the RNC are spending money while “real Americans’” wallets are in dire straits.  Nice! 

Barack on SNL?  Okay, I’m gonna be inconsistent here and say … Nice! 

Interested in more on Rachel Maddow?  Here’s her partner Susan Mikula’s website.  I’m adding it to my “Finer Things” listing -- very cool work!  Nice! 

And are you ready for Game 1 of the World Series?  Phillies fans (who have raised booing to an art form, according to Tony DeMarco) are!  Nice! 

My brave prediction … there will be a parade on Broad Street … after 7 games!  Sorry, Beeg and Mo … but Nice! 

Right now, this USWNT has a big opportunity to step out from the giant shadow of past glories and establish its own identity. Thinking of them, I think of the New England Patriots in their first of their recent string of Super Bowl appearances. Tom Brady was not a superstar … and the team ran out onto the field en masse rather than be introduced as individuals. That’s what this USWNT reminds me of. The superstars will come – but right now, it’s all about the team.

Meanwhile, on the fine arts front, I have a link from Margaret McWethy … which lets you take a look at some of the paintings from her recent show. Check it out! Her show is on display at the Egeli Gallery in Provincetown, MA through the summer. The gallery is at 382 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657.

If you are in the vicinity, you should definitely stop by and give yourself a treat! If you’re not, the selection on the Egeli site is a lovely preview of what folks will see on Friday!

But back to Zaftig’s. At the end of our meal, we were admiring the paintings on the wall … very colorful pieces, one of which I was particularly taken with as it reminded me of the snow-covered chairs out by our chiminea this past winter. Turns out that our waiter was the artist! Danny O’Connor is his name – check out his work. Looks like he’s a very prolific and inventive, and well-established fixture in the Boston-and-beyond art world. What a find! I will be saving my $$ and might just become a collector!

And now, a Veteran’s Cup Update! It looks like the O-50 Bay State Breakers made a valiant effort out there in Bellingham, but didn’t make the cut for the play-off’s. I hope to get more details next week and find out how MLD’s hamstrings held up … so stay tuned! Looks like the O-55 Breakers women did move into the Semi-finals … but as of this writing they haven’t yet posted the results of that game.

On the USWNT front, Pia and her charges will face Brazil today at 4PM (ET). While they have played (and defeated) Brazil once already since the World Cup loss, this continues to be a match with some baggage … and should be a good one (even though Marta and Christiane reportedly won’t be there.) Here’s an article about local hero Lori Chalupny from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Check out ESPN at 4PM ET – should be a good one!

What is it about this granite and ice, I wonder.  The readings were wonderful, and each entirely individual.  Rooted in their collective 200-some years of experience, the words were well-crafted, lovingly honed gifts.  What an honor, on a January night, to sit in the presence of these aging masters – their presence at once so robust and so evanescent! 

It somehow reminded me of the two deer that were pointed out to me this past Monday, on the edge of the field outside our kitchen wondow.  There they were, big as life, browsing for something, anything, edible.  Looking, I saw them clearly … yet a moment before, they had been right there and I’d seen nothing but the woods, still and cold and unpopulated. 

My world feels more alive than it did before last night.  How could it not? There are three venerable Poets Laureate toiling out there in their poets’ houses somewhere, hardly noticed, but very nearby! 

One of my personal favorites is:

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change.  But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

I am listening to ‘Laura Nyro Radio” right now – and am magically back in a dorm room on Willets 3-North in January 1972. Ah, nostaligia. (But you don’t have to go the nostalgia route … try picking, I don’t know, Feist or something.)

Pandora Radio is part of something called the Music Genome Project. What can I say? It is very, very cool!

You can browse and get a taste of Margaret McWethy’s artwork.  Margaret is a wonderful artist whose work reflects her love of color, light, and the objects in her world.  Following is biographical information from one of her shows:

“Margaret McWethy is an Impressionist painter with a lifelong interest in art and the natural world. She paints the scenes that surround her, but her real subjects are the brilliance of light and the rhythms of nature.

“Margaret studied art history and biology at Swarthmore College. Since graduating in 1977 she has sought teachers who base their art on training, careful observation and understanding. Nationally known portrait artist, Cedric Egeli, master colorist, Henry Henche, Impressionist, John Ebersberger and sculptors, David Farrell and Stephen Perkins have all been influential teachers who have helped Margaret learn the skills and discipline she needs to express her personal view of nature. Though their disciplines are different-drawing, painting, and three-dimensional form- their philosophies are similar: only through diligent development of vision can truth be re-created. The pursuit of knowledge to enhance her ‘seeing’ of the world has become an ongoing journey for Margaret.

“Margaret’s background in the sciences tends to make her approach a blend of the analytical and the intuitive. “I like the idea of reducing things into parts to see how they work, then reconstructing and editing, not with the object of reducing problems to formulas but to reach some real understanding with which one can then begin to create.”

“Margaret McWethy is a native of Annapolis, Maryland. She currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband and young son. Margaret teaches workshops at The Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown and she is also featured in two books, Painting the Impressionist Landscape by Lois Griffel and Capturing Radiant Color in Oils by Susan Sarbeck. Margaret’s work has been exhibited internationally.”

Following the call of a different muse is Brian Dickerson.  His compelling work is abstract and full of feeling … as noted in the following review excerpted from the Philadelphia Inquirer: 

The subdued and vaguely mystical paintings that Brian Dickerson is showing at the Mangel Gallery evoke the Schoharie Valley west of Albany, N.Y., where he grew up. Specifically, the paintings refer to the Helderberg escarpment, which runs through the region.

The references are oblique because the paintings, all on wood constructions, are abstract. Assembled from pieces of aged wood, with tiny compartments cut into their faces, they project the character of reliquaries.  The “relics” in this case are the artist’s memories of his boyhood in a geographically striking and archaeologically fertile place.

Dickerson achieves spiritual resonance less through form than through color, or the lack of it.  His most effective paintings are done in soft black, dark brown, gray and bronze, all of which impart sober religiosity. 

Flashes of color, such as scarlet or bright green, enliven several works, and several others are done mainly in lighter hues such as yellow or pale peach and white. Yet the darker ones carry more emotional weight because they appear to be more deeply felt, or remembered.