The Vacationland Vixens

So tonight will mark the first time I've ever gone to roller derby. Yes, that's right, Maine apparently has a roller derby team (the above-mentioned Vixens) and they're having an open house up in Topsham tonight. The people watching should be spectacular...this is just too good an opportunity to miss. The website is www.mainerollerderby.com if you want to check it out.

Speaking of opportunities too good to miss, Bill Simmons had a great "Page 2" not too long ago about his favorite clips on YouTube. He leads off with Roddy Piper's coconut-smashing bout against my personal old-school wrestling favorite Superfly Snuka - it got me hooked. Hours of quality viewing there.

It's been a week of (hopefully) new beginnings and rediscovery of old favorites. I got home Tuesday night and found The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain on Encore. I always loved the movie, and now that I've actually seen Wales (the movie takes place in the south, I was in the north), it was even better. I'm sitting here listening to Dire Straits' "Private Investigation" - and remembering myself what an incredible talent Mark Knopfler is. It's not all "Sultans of Swing" or "Money for Nothing" - catch the live version of the theme to "Local Hero." It's such a beautiful piece by a true artist.