Posted by Adrienne on May 27, 2010 under Books | 
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The Sorceress by Michael Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book 3 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series is The Sorceress. Like the previous two books in the series, this one follows the adventures of Sophie and Josh Newman, the Twins of Legend, and the magical (and terrifying) world they are thrust into by the Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel.
Posted by Adrienne on May 26, 2010 under Photos, TV & Movies | No Comments
The bright colors of the fresh produce at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia really catch the eye:
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| From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Part of the film National Treasure (one of Adrienne’s favorites!) was filmed at the Market, although it was in one of the meat stalls, and not a produce one.
Posted by Adrienne on May 25, 2010 under Baseball, Mariners, Soccer, Sounders | No Comments
Doubleheaders #2 and #3 were both disappointments for us, but I had high hopes for Doubleheader #4, as the Sounders were playing San Jose, who they beat easily at home last year and the Mariners were going up against San Diego, whom they had pinned 15 runs on the night before.
Posted by Adrienne on May 19, 2010 under Photos | No Comments
Have you ever seen a shipwreck? Or touched one? You can do both at Fort Stevens State Park, near Astoria, OR. That’s where the wreck of the Peter Iredale lies:
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| From The Beautiful Pacific Northwest |
In 1906, the Peter Iredale, a British ship, sailed from Mexico to Portland, OR, where it was going to pick up a load of grain to take back to England. The Columbia River, however, is very treacherous, and the ship was caught in a sudden change in the weather that led to it being beached, like you can see in the photo. All of the crew made it ashore safely, but no one ever removed the ship from the beach, and it is still there, over 100 years later. You can find out more about the Peter Iredale at this link.
Posted by Adrienne on May 14, 2010 under Books, Soccer | No Comments
This books gets me a third of the way to my goal!
Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey–and Even Iraq–Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World’s Most Popular Sport by Simon Kuper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A fascinating read on using principles of statistics and economics to understand club and international soccer, Soccernomics covers the transfer market, the fans and their psychological status, and which countries love soccer most and which countries are likely to win future World Cups. With that same tournament starting at the beginning of June, now was the perfect time to read a book on soccer.
Simon Kuper’s book is interesting and well-written, even if it has a little more math in it than I generally like. Kuper does do an excellent job of explaining how he uses the numbers to find the answers to questions like “are penalty kicks unfair?” and “do the fortunes of a soccer team cause its fans to commit suicide?” It’s an interesting and different look at a game that I have, in the last few years, come to love.
One caveat: because the book relies so much on statistics, its focus is mostly on Europe, because the most reliable stats on soccer games and fans come from that continent. MLS hasn’t been around enough I guess to warrant a place in Kuper’s analysis. Unfortunately also, while Latin American countries have a long history with the game, they also haven’t kept the type of stats that Kuper needed for the book. Hopefully in another 10 years, there will be a new edition that can include findings from continents other than Europe.