Happy Independence Day From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Maybe its just me, but it seems as though its an unwritten rule that just about every town in New England (or upstate New York) has their own vintage fire engine that's either in the process of being restored or is already restored and is prominently featured in the town's 4th of July parade.

Firetrucks making an appearence in the Milltown, NJ 4th of July Parade. Frank H. Conlon/Newark Star-Ledger photo

Of course, some of the towns that don't have a working vintage fire truck can usually get a more recent model from the current Fire Department fleet to pinch-hit for them in the parade- that's if they aren't already scheduled.

Fire Engine with Summit County Historical Society banner in the 2010 Frisco, CO Independence Day Parade.

Or they could always arrange to borrow one from a nearby town. In any case, my point is that any parade celebrating the 4th of July [or Memorial Day or Columbus Day depending on where you live- NANESB] seems incomplete without at least one fire engine participating.

It's a little like the 4th of July without fireworks, which unfortunately is a reality in many cities and towns in recent years. While some towns in the Rocky Mountain region have postponed or cancelled fireworks displays over valid concerns about wildfires, the coastal Oregon town of DePoe Bay was pressured by Federal wildlife officials to cancel this year's Independence Day fireworks display because the noise might scare off protected species like the Brandt's Cormorant. And why should we ever doubt the feds and environmentalists? I mean, they have such a high batting average when it comes to birds in Oregon, right?

The fireworks- held a day ahead of Independence Day so they wouldn't have to compete with larger towns- have taken place in DePoe Bay since 1993.

Of course, not everything about the 4th of July in the Pacific northwest is all about being a buzzkill. In addition to the traditional fire engines and vintage cars, one Seattle suburb has managed to make a good thing even better.

Two...actually three photos courtesey of Tuners & Models

In recent years, Kirkland, WA based swimwear retailer Bikini Beach has participated in the city's Independence Day parade, complete with models sporting bikinis adorned in the stars and stripes.

Kinda makes you wish your hometown had an internet-based swimwear and lingerie retrailer so that they could participate too, huh?

In A World Gone Loonie, Our Neighbors to the North Mark Canada Day

Elle Patille displaying the Canadian flag in a manner I wish we'd see more often. Photo via Toro Magazine.

Sometimes referred to derisively as "America's Hat" or "Our 51st State", the last couple of years have been quite good to Canada. For example- once the butt of all manner of jokes, their currency- known as the Loonie for the $1 coin bearing the image of a loon- has proved to be exceptionally resilient since the start of the 2008 global economic crisis- at times exceeding the value of the US dollar in the foreign exchange market.

'How resilient?' you might be asking. Iceland was hit particularly hard by the 2008 economic crisis and as their banks were nationalized or being placed into recievership. The value of their currency- the Krona- plummeted against the Euro and US Dollars, accordingly.

With wildly fluctuating exchange rates between the Krona and other major currencies, Icelandic economists came up with a unique proposal- replace the Korna with the Loonie.

Gudjonsson is an economist at Iceland's Research Center for Social and Economic Studies.

He recently stated that Canada and Iceland share Arctic geography and export-driven economies. Gudjonsson also noted that Canada's sound economy is buffered by a wealth in natural resources like oil and water, making the loonie a stable long-term bet.

"Their export mix is very, very similar to ours," he said in November

Now, with the eurozone facing ongoing debt issues, Iceland is looking west for a currency solution.

While Iceland would lose their autonomy in terms of monetary policy if they ditch the krona for the loonie, Gudjonsson said last year that the move is a "sensible" choice.

Investors and currency traders have begun using the loonie as a hedge against inflation or devaluation of major currencies such as the US dollar, yen or euro.

What's the secret behind the suddenly mighty loonie in recent years? Canada's natural resources and demand from growing economies like China and India. Canada exports oil, wheat, gold, uranium, timber, natural gas, paladium, grain, coal and silver just to name a few. Although there's a ready market for many of these materials in the USA, increasing demand from Asia has driven up the prices of these commodities in recent years. I recall a conversation at a sports bar with a [drunken] businessman from Toronto right around the 2008 economic crisis. He basically explained that should you see the price of oil go up significantly, look for the loonie to gain strength against the world's major currencies. There was more to it than that, but ever since then, the basic premise behind his explanation has held up.

While this makes Canada an increasingly expensive destination for visitors from the USA or Europe [tourism also remains important to Canada's economy- NANESB!], this has also provided a large measure of stability to the Canadian economy.

Did I mention how much I've come to admire Canada? In recent years, they've demonstrated that they're unapologetic about taking advantage of their natural resources and have rolled back some of the quasi-socialist laws and regulations that the American left has looked to for inspiration for decades- perhaps the most notable being this year's demise of Canada's costly long-gun registry.

Canada day will be marked this year in a number of ways- Canada's 'birthday cake' was cut with a sword at Halifax's Citadel while more than 30 ceremonies throughout the country will have 1500 people sworn in as Canada's newest citizens. In Ottawa, Winnipeg and British Columbia, thousands of people participated in 'living flag' events where as many people as possible in red or white tops would gather in a public space to try and form a mosaic version of Canada's red and white maple leaf flag.

Of course, just like the 4th of July here, Canada Day will be marked with a fireworks display in many cities and towns

Just in Time for Mother's Day- Entire Montana Town for Sale for $1.4 Million

Stuck for gift ideas for mom, dad or the graduate in your life? Flowers, neckties and gift cards have pretty much been done to death- so why not try something out of the ordinary and bid on an entire town?

The southern Montana town of Pray will be hitting the auction block next month and is expected to fetch an asking price in the neighborhood of $1.5 million. Now, I know this isn't the first time I suggested purchasing an entire town as a gift idea. However, unlike Currie, NV, the town of Pray has about 10 full time residents and is not considered a ghost town.

Barbara Walker owns all five acres of Pray, Montana. She collects rent from the ten other people who live there.

"I'm a one woman show," Walker said. "So I decided OK, if I have to be the maintenance man and garbage man and sanitarian then I'm going to be the mayor too!"

Founded in 1909, Pray is named after a Montana congressman. Walker's family has run it since 1953, and not much has changed. The general store seems frozen in time. Before a new highway was built, this was a popular stop on the road that leads to Yellowstone National Park.

Walker lost her husband Johnny to cancer in 2006. Trying to revive the town alone was just too much work. She's selling the entire town, including her house at action next month.

Pray is like a lot of frontier towns, built on big hopes as the railroads pushed west. Many of those towns are now long gone, but Pray has kept its name on the map for one single reason - the post office.

"A zip code. That's it, plain and simple," Walker said. "It was the reason for Pray becoming Pray in 1909 and that's the reason it's called a town today."

When you pull into the tiny town of less than a dozen people, the post office is the first thing you notice. The zip code on the front of the building is a point of pride for people

Pray is located to the north of Yellowstone National Park and about 20 miles south of Livingston, MT- a railroad town and flyfishing destination. Some 40 miles northeast of Pray is the college town of Bozeman, home of the Montana State University campus.

Pray is not the first town in the region to be put up for sale. The tiny town of Buford, WY sold to a Vietnamese buyer in an online auction for $900,000 back in April. During the summer of 2011, a Filipino church purchased the South Dakota Badlands town of Scenic for $700,000.

Hop to It- Japanese Patrons Flock to Nagoya 'Bunny Cafe'

Seriously- when I heard that Japan had a bunny-themed restaurant, I figured it would be an eatery where the waitstaff would look like this:


I mean- c'mon, it's Japan. They already have such a thing as 'Maid Cafes'- which are dining establishments staffed almost exclusively by young women in maid outfits. Seriously, go ahead and check Wikipedia, I'll wait.

Anywhoo, although the Year of the Rabbit has come and gone, I thought Easter might be as good a time as any to highlight an article I recently saw about an offbeat dining experience in Japan.

For at least one cafe in the central Honshu city of Nagoya they really mean actual bunnies. And they're not on the menu, either.

It seems as though most apartments in Japan prohibit renters from keeping pets. To offset that, Nagoya's Usagi-to-Cafe (or Rabbit & Cafe) offers patrons the chance to play with a number of pet rabbits kept on the premises. The cafe also serves coffee, dishes decorated to look like rabbits and rabbit pottery.


Usagi-to-Cafe is a variation of a cat-themed Tokyo restaurant called Cafe Calico where patrons can dine or play with cats kept on site. While not as clean and fastidious as cats (who can mingle in the dining area with the patrons) the rabbits are kept in an enclosure separate from the dining area [this is making me wonder if they had any ads with whoever did the Japanese voiceover from the movie version of Lennie from Of Mice and Men- NANESB!].

Cafe patrons are charged a ¥900 (about $11) cover charge and an additional ¥100 per minute to cuddle or play with one of the 18 rabbits on hand. Usagi-to-Cafe also has a BYOB policy- as in 'Bring Your Own Bunny'- where owners can bring their pet rabbits to socialize with the cafe's own rabbits.

Ringing in the New Year at Not Another New England Sports Blog!

A little late with this one, but in my defense I never said anything about being punctual as part of my New Years resolutions. Also, I figure if long-standing New Year's Day institutions like the Rose Bowl (or more recent ones like the NHL's Winter Classic) can get pushed back by a day, then where's the harm in me following suit?

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Years. The past 10 days or so have been pretty hectic for yours truly and it was probably pretty apparent with the fairly sparse updating.

The mischievous raven-tressed beauty shown at the stroke of midnight above is from pin-up artist Bill Randall. Randall, who attended the Art Institute of Chicago and reportedly did anti-nazi propagnda posters for the French Resistance during WWII.

After the war, Randall did covers and artwork for magazines like Glamour, American Weekly and Esquire as well as print ads for Palmolive, General Motors and 3M. Starting in 1953, Randall's artwork was published in a series of datebooks and calendars bearing his name.

I'm not certain of the name of the title and exact date of this piece, but thought it would be worth sharing nonetheless.

Happy Rosh Hashanah, From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my regular Jewish and Israeli visitors [Do I have any? If not, I'll just wish it to Jewish passers-by then- NENESB!].

Since Bar Refaeli is apparently a draft dodger (not an easy feat coming from a nation that has mandatory conscription) I thought the High Holiday observing the New Year could be kicked off with some Israeli eye-candy that's actually wearing the IDF uniform.


Of course, some could argue that there's a sensationalist and exploitative element to pointing out the fact that there's attractive women living in Israel.

But for a more straightforward, slice of life look at contemporary Israeli women serving in the IDF, photographer Rachel Papo has an interesting photo essay called Serial No. 3817131.
It was my observation that if a woman could look good in BDUs (i.e. Battle Dress Uniform- the day-to-day camouflage uniform of the US Army), she could look good in pretty much anything. I think the same analysis could hold true for the IDF olive-drab uniform, although that hasn't hindered the IDF glee club any.

But on this Rosh Hashanah, I will let you, good NANESB! readers, be the judge of that.

Not Another New England Sports Blog! Wishes You a Festive & Happy Cinco de Mayo

Gil Elvgren

The word 'diversity' often gets thrown around by smarmy, agenda-driven morons to the point where it's meaningless, but one of my few gripes about the vintage pin-ups from back in the postwar-era was the apparent lack of.....wait for it....ethnic diversity.

Now, granted attitudes about race along with the demographics and marketing strategies were different back in the day. But would companies like Barbasol or Sylvania featured some sort of massive backlash from the public if the artwork in their ads featured an occasional Asian beauty, sultry Latina or ebony bombshell?

But with that said, there's this gem titled A Pleasant Sight to Si courtesy of the incomparable Gil Elvgren. This 1969 work was published some 107 years after outnumbered and outgunned Mexican forces clashed with a better equipped and numerically superior invading Napoleonic French Army that had occupied Veracruz and was advancing towards Mexico City at the Battle of Puebla.

Interestingly, Cinco De Mayo isn't celebrated in Mexico very much outside the state of Puebla, although it has clearly caught on North of the Border. Also, the May 5th Battle of Puebla does not mark Mexico's Independence Day- that actually takes place in mid-September. Apparently May 5th is the only acceptable day to drink a Corona beer as well, which suits me just fine.

Happy Easter From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

No big travel plans for yours truly like around Chirstmastime, but between church, dinner with the family and Opening Day for the Sox, I'll be pretty busy and thus would like to take this opportunity to wish the readers of this humble blog a happy and joyous Easter!