The Lovely Feathers are one of those unforgettable bands you need only hear once to fall in love with. That’s how it happened with me. I was a sophomore in college, randomly playing hundreds of new indie releases, hoping to find a gem for a music review whose deadline was creeping up. It was two in the morning, I’d thrown in an album not even checking the artist, the first track blares from the speakers and I know, simply know, that it’s meant to be.
While many people think of Alaska as having weeks of endless sunlight in the summer, this is not necessarily the case. Only the residents of Barrow in the northernmost part of the state experience continuous daylight or darkness during certain periods of the year. In Barrow, the continuous darkness extends from November through January and the endless daylight arrives in May and lasts through August.
The reason for these periods of continuous light or darkness is due to Barrow’s location and the tilt of the earth’s axis as it rotates around the sun. Although continuous sunlight or darkness can be disturbing to tourists, most residents here are accustomed to these changes and adapt rather easily. In fact, the town boasts that the Northern Lights, an unusual display of light across the atmosphere, are best viewed during the time of winter darkness.
Read more about Total Darkness now Behind some Alaskans
Okay, dear diary, I admit it - I still think about dropping into the presidential race! And I know I'm not the only one. I have a lot of fans out there, you better believe it! Including some of those wacky kids at the Huffington Post, of all places! 
One benefit of scouting for old books in thrift shops and similar places is finding books written about and by people in the past. A couple of books I found years ago focused on Jeane Dixon. The reason this was so interesting: the majority of the "prophecies" Jeane Dixon spoke about never came to pass.
Read more about Jeane Dixon: Gifted, or a Fraud?
When I first moved to the Northeast, I noticed something on the restaurant menus that I had never seen before. It was the Old Bay seasoning. All of the people who grew up in the area knew exactly what it was. Meanwhile, I had never even heard of such a spice. Yet there it was on the menu, used to spice up so many different types of dishes. It got me really curious to find out what was the big deal about Old Bay, and I proceeded to research the spice. Read more about Old Bay Seasoning
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Seen at Bill James Online, in the "Hey Bill" section:
I always thought that perhaps Weaver's system worked, but not necessarily for the reason people thought it worked. Weaver collected outfielders, first basemen and DH types, occasionally catchers and third basemen, with severe limitations but identifiable strengths. . .left-handed .320 hitters who couldn't run, right-handed power hitters who couldn't throw, short switch-hitters who walked every day but struck out twice. He rotated these players based on matchups, true, but he might have been equally successful if he had rotated them in and out of the lineup by pitcher height, hair color and biorhythms.
And, by the way, that system would work better now than it did then.
The enormous expansion of the bullpens since the 1970s has trapped in the minor leagues dozens of the types of players that Weaver worked with, the two-dimensional outfielders. It's a lot easier to find those guys now than it was in Earl Weaver's day.
This is an interesting insight. In the 1970's, teams ran 10- and even 9-man pitching staffs. Now you see 12-man staffs and, correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't there been some 13-man staffs at times?
The difference between a 10-man staff, in Weaver's day, and a 12-man staff nowadays, well, that's the difference between a 6-man bench and a 4-man bench. But! Hold on now - you've got to have a backup catcher and a backup shortstop. So you're talking about four bench players vs. two.
It hadn't really occurred that we're talking about half as many jobs for the Carlos Guillens of the world. Maybe 50% of the 1975 Carlos Guillens in Major League Baseball are now in the minor leagues?
Read more about Guillen as a Weaver-Style, January, Replacement Level Player 
Thomas Kinkade is one of the most celebrated artists of all time and is known as The Painter of Light. If you enjoy his artwork, you’re in luck because many of his paintings can be found in puzzle form. Each one is a replica of one of his works including his signature hidden cross and letter “n” which represents his wife’s first initial. Read more about Jigsaw Puzzles for Lovers of Light
Of course many other things need to be in place for the Patriots to win, but these are more obvious and given then anything else. For example, Tom Brady must play good. Well duh…enough said there. The guy lives for these games and has been there plenty of times. He also has a huge chip on his shoulder coming into this game and will be playing some very angry and inspired football. The Giants ruined Brady’s perfect season after they beat the Patriots 4 years ago in the Super Bowl. Brady will be there and be as productive as he always is.
Lastly, the team must be coached well. Again, this goes without saying and the coach will show up as he always does as well. You better believe he also has a chip on his shoulder as well. Not only was his perfect season ruined as well, but he also has a memorable flub from one of the most crucial plays in his career which came at Lucas Oil Stadium (the same stadium this Super Bowl will be played at). This came in a critical AFC Championship game against the Colts where he went for it on a crucial fourth and two. The team ultimately came up short and many thought it cost the team the game. Once again, though, this is more of an obvious and given key to victory.
In the end, watch Gronk and the Patriots D if you want to really know how the team will fare. Read more about Pats Keys to Victory Part 2 of 2
In order for the Patriots to win Super Bowl XLVI, in Indianapolis Indiana Sunday, they must do two main things. Number one is to keep playing solid defense as they have so far in the playoffs. This is something they lacked most of the regular season, but has been turned up a notch since the middle of December. Number two is to continue to feed the ball to Gronkowski. This could be difficult, however, as Gronk has been limited since an ankle injury suffered in the AFC Championship game two Sundays ago.
The Patriots defense has risen to the occasion as of late after a horrible start to their season. They give up some of the biggest numbers in the league both on the ground and through the air. In the past few weeks and playoffs, though, they have seemed to be a different team. The defense seems to be finally clicking a bit and teams are not just driving down the field at will. This must continue if they plan to beat an offense with the weapons that the New York Giants have. What has worked best with them is a bend but do not break attitude that has existed throughout the season. Although the defense gives up a lot of yards, points given up a game are respectable.
Perhaps no bigger influence exist towards the Patriots success this season, then that of Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski, or Gronk as people like to call him, has been a one man wrecking crew for the team and accounted for 17 of the team’s touchdowns this past season. He simply rarely misses and is impossible to cover due to his large size and huge hands. Gronk, however, was injured in the last game and had to utilize a walking boot following their win against the Ravens in the AFC Championship game. He has since been seen without the boot, but still has a noticeable limp. He must be healthy and productive Sunday if the Patriots have any chance to win another Super Bowl for the city of Boston. Read more about Pats Keys to Victory
We celebrated a joint birthday party for my two oldest kids the other day (don’t worry, they get their own celebrations too) at Chuck E. Cheese, so when I was deciding what to bring for a cake, I needed something easy to transport and easy to clean up after. Just a few days before the big event, I stumbled across cupcake cones online, and they were the perfect idea for taking with us. Read more about Cupcake Cones
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