Infield angels. Enjoy a weekend of Red Sox bliss, plus an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning! If I make it through the Sox parade, I'll file a full report Monday...

In honor of the Olde Towne Team, I'll take the liberty of composing a Red Sox Friday Five -- I'm sure Miss Kim won't mind!

Do you own an actual pair of red socks? Umm...nope. I think all my socks are black.

What about Red Sox merchandise? Pedro, Varitek, and Nomar (!) t-shirts, one of which is being worn by the scarecrow in my front yard. I also have a very cool lapel pin, and a Stephen King Red Sox/Lowell Spinners bobblehead doll.

What was your favorite part of Wednesday night? The red moon beaming down good luck vibes on Boston...plus Pedro dancing around with the trophy on his head and the DR flag in his hand!

What's your prediction for the Sox' 2004-2005 season? Provided they re-sign Lowe, Pedro, and Varitek, I have three words: Back. To. Back. :)

Which Red Sox player would you dress up as for Halloween? I think I'd make a convincing Manny...

Cinnamon is imported from another planet. -- Lie! Enjoy some fibs today, at Dave's Web of Lies. (Via Bifurcated Rivets, of course.)

"There's a crack in the Calvinism now." -- The existential implications of the Red Sox' World Series win...if any. Globe columnist and perpetual pessimist Dan Shaughnessy has a similar perspective: "The best team in baseball. I guess we'll have to settle for that." Oh puh-lease...is there anything more Bostonian than faux self-loathing? Sheesh.

Next stop, Rock Bottom -- The GOP sent out an anti-Kerry mailing in PA plastered with pictures of the World Trade Center in flames. Lovely.

UPDATE: an even sneakier trick?

Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas -- from The Morning News. For the grown-up trick-or-treaters, of course.

Huzzah! So, didja hear the Celtics won last night? Oh yeah, and the Red Sox too! I quote owner John Henry: "This is like an alternate reality." The cosmic tumblers clicked into place last night, under a red moon, 18 years after 1986, 86 years after 1918...spooky! This town is a foot off the ground today -- goodbye, inferiority complex. Bring on the victory parade!

"'Hobbit' Joins Human Family Tree" -- trust the Beebe to have the best headline for the amazing discovery of mini-human remains in Indonesia. My favorite part: the local legends of "little people" living in remote caves may be based in fact! Paging Agent Mulder...

Blue Staters are people too! -- Clever essay on the loathing for all things liberal-Volvo drivin'-Democrat in the real-tuff-'Merica of Bush & Co...which, of course, doesn't really exist. And this Salon piece boldly predicts a decisive Kerry victory (oh please...oh please...) based on the GOP's total misunderstanding of young/black/brown America. Woohoo!

My Own Private Library -- the joy and obsession of collecting lots and lots and lots of books. Mmmmm, books.

"The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day." -- A disturbing BBC report on the latest evidence of GOP voter intimidation tactics in Florida. Throw this on the pile with the lost absentee ballots and the Delray Beach parking tickets, and smell the recount brewing. Meantime, also check out Mr. Sun's suggestions for Bush's yet-to-be-unveiled October Surprise -- I agree that this is probably not what Karl Rove had in mind. Heh.

Peter Jackson presents: Frodo Shaves Like A Man! -- This is a great idea. Page 4 is my favorite...hee hee! (via Kottke.)

"I'm the biggest sports fan I know who hardly ever watches a game." -- The Red Sox Uncertainty Principle explained. It seems to work for me -- I missed Ortiz's big homer in Game 1, and all of Game 2, and hey, they won. Maybe I'll read while I watch tonight's game...and I'm booked tomorrow and Thursday nights, hello World Series!

They did it! As midnight struck, I was disowned by my loyal-Yankees-fan family in NJ ("I never liked you," joked Uncle Bob), Nat ran out in the yard to tear the Derek Lowe t-shirt off our scarecrow, to wash it and wear it to LA this weekend (hopefully to Sonny McLean's for Game 1 of the World Series!), and I sat on the sofa and felt the surreal joy of Red Sox Nation, redeemed. Miracles occasionally happen, people -- and if Houston wins their Game 7 tonight, we could see Massachusetts beat Texas in two high-profile national events within a week! Go Sox!

"There are 5,949,632,435 people poorer than you." -- Think you're broke, compared to the Rebel Billionaires of the world? Reality checks available from Global Rich List.

The DaVinci Code -- more than just a beach/airport/book club book? This Village Voice essay posits: "The Da Vinci Code...is the popular expression of a desire for a kind of meaningfulness to life that is missing for most of us." Woah! Maybe I should get off my literary high horse and read it....ooh, but wait, later on: "[It] suggests redemption without ever having the courage to destroy anything." Hmmmm....methinks this writer is possessed by the recently departed spirit of Jacques Derrida! Who, by the way, had the best...Onion headline...ever yesterday: "Jacques Derrida 'Dies.'" Hee.

Dirty Tricks are for (Republi)kids -- If you care to dig deeper into the open sewer that is the last two weeks of the Presidential election, allow me to point you in a few unsavory directions. Over at Salon, there's an article on Sproul & Assoc., the "consulting firm" bankrolled by the national GOP that's accused of holding "non-partisan" voter registration drives in the Las Vegas area and then tearing up the Democratic voters' forms and throwing them in the garbage. Nice. In other news, LATimes columnist Robert Scheer wrote yesterday that the CIA is withholding its internal 9/11 report, presumably until after the election, because it "names names" and will embarass the Bush administration. Thank you, Porter J. "Bitchboy" Goss (and check out the classic BBC tagline on that second photo!). And if all this makes you cynical about Election Day, indugle your spleen at OctoberSurprise.net, a site that prognosticates on just how far GWB & Co. will go "to swing or steal the vote." Oy.

Ode to a Bloody (Red) Sock... The Lazarus Sox won again last night, forcing another Game 7 Armageddon tonight in the Bronx (and there endeth all comparisons to last year). Curt Schilling attributed his gutsy performance to his Christian faith: he pitched without his special hi-top shoe and after getting stitches in his dislocated tendon, yeowch. Let's see, we've got blood, miracles...yup, this is a biblical struggle against evil!

The Case of the Stolen Spoon. Today's ? du Jour relates to a hotheaded London chef who accused a high-end customer of stealing the silverware. D'oh!

"Unencumbered and of caucasian appearance" -- Australian woman takes out a billboard to find that special someone, with some highly specific attributes.

Ouch, my Don't-Care-A-Bellum hurts -- Join the amazing Mr. Sun on a journey...inside the mind of the Undecided Voter!

"Rising to the irony and all..." -- Very cool interview with Ben Folds, piano-rock god and producer of William Shatner's new CD, which features cameos by Aimee Mann, Joe Jackson and...Henry Rollins!

"I'm looking for someone right now to be my other." -- If you, like me, saw "I ♥ Huckabees" this weekend, you will grasp why Mark Wahlberg's character has a blog in real life. And for more fake movie-related websites, click over to Huckabees.com, the Open Spaces Coalition, and the existential detective offices of Jaffe & Jaffe -- hey, take their questionnaire!

Idiot's Delight! The 2004 Red Sox seem to come alive only when they've been left for dead, but that's OK with me. David Ortiz hit a 2-run homer at 1:28am to resuscitate the ALCS vs. the Yankees, who've been playing far superior ball all weekend. Thanks to Friday's rainout, Game 5 will be this afternoon (that's right, 15.5 hours after the end of Game 4) at Fenway, Martinez v. Mussina, watch out! Read the NYTimes' coverage here, it's even sweeter.

ConvinceYourMom.com -- Ever wonder how to gently persuade those pesky "undecided voters" in your life how not throw their vote (and Constitutional rights, job security, soul, etc.) away on Bush? Here's the site for you.

And now, the return of the Kimpossible Friday Five! Today's theme -- the art of travel:

When was the last time you were on a plane? Last month on the shuttle to/from Newark. Oops, make that "NYC/Newark Liberty International Airport."
When was the last time you were on a train? I took the Acela to NJ over the summer, a great way to travel: quiet, relaxing, comfy, plentiful snacks and stunning lavatories.
How far will you travel this weekend? Just around the house, hopefully. Next weekend, L.A.!
What is your favorite mode of travel? I think it might be by ferry.
What is your least favorite part of traveling? Unpacking. Also, forgetting my camera in the rental car and having to jump off the shuttle bus to go run back and retrieve it.

Earth shoes, of course. Oh, those Ukranian fashion designers, so punny. Enjoy the ? du Jour...

"People think Minnesota is kinda bland, that the people are boring, but a lot of folks here have Viking blood." -- Rock on, Golden Gophers! Two geeks from Wired are on a trip down the Great River Road...for some reason...through the heartland of hotdish, and they made a stop at the good old Mall of America. Ahh, it makes me long to return...well, not to the Mall, but to the Twin Cities for sure. (Via native son Jason Kottke.)

Should we futz around with "scumbag"? -- On the domestication of formerly profane slang terms. Which suck.

Rap is old, and so are you -- 25 years ago today (that's 1979 for you math-o-phobes), rap music broke through into mainstream pop culture with SugarHill Gang's single "Rapper's Delight." The BBC has put together this interactive timeline of hip-hop's rise to utter domination of the zeitgeist. It's entertaining, though not exhaustive: where are the ladies, from Salt-N-Pepa to Queen Latifah to Missy Elliot? Word.

Stop Sinclair! -- you may have heard that Sinclair Broadcast Group, a TV station conglomerate, will be showing an anti-Kerry film, "Stolen Honor," next week. That is, this federally-licensed broadcaster, who leases the public's airwaves and is supposed to serve the public interest with fair and equitable programming, and is specifically prohibited by federal law from "electioneering," is ordering all 62 stations to show this garbage. You can look up your local Sinclair station (there's only one in MA, and one in ME) and give them a call, and register a complaint with the FCC. Let's get Michael Powell to do his real job for once!

Ouch. Last night was yet another stranger-than-fiction entry in the tattered Red Sox-Yankees notebook...our prize ace crumbles for the first time all year, we're down 8-0 after 6 innings yet manage to claw our way back to within one run, but then we're put away by the funereal Mariano Rivera at the last out, against Bill "Walkoff Home Run Against Rivera" Mueller? Pass the Tums!

"Hit the ball, not the wall." -- Red Sox Nation is up in arms over an official MLB-licensed shirt poking fun at the Sox...thus these creative (?) responses. Hee hee.

"He advised the Ministry that Anus and Pluto be rejected, for example." -- Very odd NYTimes article on Denmark's bureaucracy of baby names. There's an approved list of basic names new parents can choose from, but anything else (i.e. Ashleiy, Molli, Monkey) must be submitted for government review. This would never fly in the US of A, but maybe there's a lesson to be learned...do we really need to saddle kids with MiKaylah and the like? Hmmm, this gives me a good idea for...

...a Name That Friday Five! Miss Kim has flown off again for the weekend, so I'll humbly submit a topic for your perusal:

How did your parents choose your name? They chose Emily after the woman who ran the college volunteer program they did in Appalachia; Katherine is the latest iteration in my mom's family from Ekaterina to Catherine to Mary Katherine to Kathleen to me.
What's your (least) favorite celebrity name? I actually like Apple, but Brooklyn? No. Also no to anything like Lola/Lulu/Lala, anything faux literary (Demi Moore, I'm looking at you), and of course all the poor Zappas.
What would your porn star name be? Fashion designer name? Barfly name? Click here!
Porn star: Maggie Myrtle
Movie Star: Chocolate Alexander
Fashion Designer: Search Henri
Socialite: MeMe Newark (!)
Fly Girl: E.Du (!!!)
Icon: Toffee Milk
Detective: Chick Jersey
Barfly: Cracker Caipirinha
If you were opening a restaurant, what would you name it? Many of my old homeroom teachers had great names for a pub: Braithwaite, Shallcross, Donnelly, Erxleben...
What's the worst name to have with your last name? I think it's Roy.

Is Bush wired? -- Does it ever seem to you that President Stilted might be getting fed his lines from offstage? Hmmmmmm...

Twinkie sushi, anyone? That's right: Twinkie, fruit roll-up and candy sushi, here's the recipe. From the demented mind of Hostess and one Clare Crespo, cupcake queen interviewed on Gothamist today. Mmmmmmmmm.

"Pay the nice lady, and get out of town." -- The people at the Coleman outdoor goods company know everything, and they share it on their website! Check out their tips on everything from picknicking to attending outdoor concerts (#7 is a winner) to backpacking through the hinterlands. I love people who like to plan ahead as much as I do.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to investigate a ghost?" -- This is the eeriest thing...a real-life "Sixth Sense." Countdown to movie adaptation in 5...4...

Miss Kim's out of town -- a perfect chance to catch up with her Fall Friday Five:

What is your favorite season? I like something specific about each one: summer afternoons, spring winds, snowy winter twilight. But fall is great all the time.
How many times have you FALLEN in love? Oh, plenty.
What is the last thing that made your heart FALL? Last night, Nat unintentionally scared the bejeezus out of me in the dark hallway outside the bathroom. BOOO!
How many major waterFALLS have you been to? Hmm, maybe none? Does Paterson count?
What five words best describe your upcoming FALL? Social, scary, candy, sweaters, and CrockPot!

"Dear Mike, Iraq sucks." -- Today's Guardian prints an excerpt from Michael Moore's new book, "Will They Ever Trust Us Again?," a compilation of letters he received from soldiers serving in Iraq after "Fahrenheit 9/11" came out. Wow.

Choose your Prez-O-Lantern! Up at the Topsfield Fair, the Presidential candidates have been captured in pumpkin. Not bad...though Kerry is looking slightly, uh, squashy there.

Are you a bigger Red Sox fan or Patriots fan? -- For me, there's no contest. For you, take this goofy Boston.com quiz and find out. Incidentally, if you're a certain type of Red Sox fan, you might want to check out the t-shirts over at SoxCynic.com. Yeeouch!

The Decay of DeLay -- I'm fascinated (OK, made gleeful) by the gathering scandal around House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). He's already been implicated in shady fundraising schemes as well as the Texas redistricting plan that resulted in the Lone Star Runaway Democrats debacle. Now, several directors of a PAC DeLay heads have been indicted in Austin, TX for funneling campaign contributions illegally; what's more, two former lieutenants are under federal investigation for bilking $60 million from native tribes for "gaming" consultant fees, having claimed the money bought direct access to DeLay and the White House. Woah! There's also a damning new book, The Hammer, by journalist Lou DuBose -- I heard him on NPR explaining all this muck in detail, and one can only hope the political chickens are coming home to roost, chez DeLay.