Picked this up at Paper Mania in Hartford, CT. Figured I’d share. Any ideas of the date would be much appreciated.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend some time with Mr. Mort and Mr. ACL looking at the SS10 Dockers collection. The K1 is great. And, there are some other pleasant surprises on the way.

Some snaps of the showroom.

Some readers will know that my brother and I are on an international search for the perfect plate of nachos. On rare occasion, we remember to document the quest here – nachohunters.com.

The above nachos are the most expensive I’ve ever had = $26.

I ate them in Barrow, Alaska at Pepe’s North of the Border. By all accounts, Pepe’s is the northernmost Mexican restaurant in the world. It was also the only place I ate while working an archaeological dig on the slope.

Barrow is a bloody odd place. I went to represent the state of Massachusetts (I was at the time, the summer of 2006, curatorial fellow at the New Bedford Whaling Museum). And, Pepe’s might be the oddest restaurant I’ve ever been in. The proprietor is known for marrying the chefs to trap them into staying. There is an under-explained fascination with the Chicago Blackhawks. And, as a gift they happily give you a pen. In the 5 consecutive nights I ate at Pepe’s the average number of fellow diners was 5 (roughly the size of my party).

Of course, it is also miles from any other town.

(Posting of the above picture is primarily for the benefit of Kiya and Andrew).

My friend Adam never fails in convincing me to use up any vacation time to travel to a sporting event. With that, I found myself in Utah on the way home from Vegas and at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday to watch a second USA qualifying match.

These two matches have been worthwhile experiences. Many of the (Americana) people I know talking big about trips to South Africa next summer are clueless about the US team. This truth I find troubling. Yes, I am all for excitement over the World Cup, but I’m not a tremendous fan of belt notching trips. To go to the World Cup just to say you’ve been, and not to be part of the support seems ridiculous. (I won’t go unless I land England tickets).

Saturday at Rio Tinto was the first time I’d seen the US on home soil in over a decade. The last time they played Scotland on a high school field in New Britain, CT. Reyna was captain. I don’t even remember the result.

Times have, you might imagine, changed. There is significant, if not massive, support. Sure, Rio Tinto was filled half with El Salvadorians. But, American fans were loud. And, better yet, they were knowledgeable. Many in the crowd were Real Salt Lake faithful, relishing the chance to see the national side in their own place.

For what its worth, the Stadium itself is also a gem. Compact, built for football, and nestle wonderfully into the mountains. What it lacks in true character, it makes up for as a site that works to help form a new US soccer tradition.

A final thought – Landon Donovan. Don’t like the guy, but he was terrific on the night. Bradley should give him the captains band.

Now, some images.

Quick note: The seats were filled, but I wasn’t too interested in taking more photos after kick-off.

Whenever some free time presents itself (rarely) I’ve been heading into North Philly to hunt for “ghosts.” These markers of industry past are great signals of the lives once lived in the neighborhood. I’m particularly fond of finding sets that connect discrete parts of a specific trade. For example, finding a horse hair dealer near an upholsterer.

Anyway, here are a few recent pictures. All are taken north of Girard and east of Broad Street.