Oh wow...Maine's STILL exhausted from fighting with Idaho to be the site of the World Potato Museum, but if there's anything that could get them mobilized, it's a challenge like this.

have I mentioned the giant Frankenlady a local artist wants to build in the middle of our bay?
http://www.statueofunity.net/char.html
she is a composite of a dozen or more different ladies. there's a scale model at a park near our house, VERY SCARY AT NIGHT.
http://flickr.com/photos/acornsarebitter/1190718612/
[yes, that is Chad groping her.]

anyway. i will be sure to let you know when the big one is unveiled so you can come out for that, too.

DUDE. I am SO THERE. I will stand on that hiil and yell, "Moooooooooooooose!" to the valley below.

"Moose" is already one of my favorite words to say.

Hmm... I am normally up to visit practically ANY country, and I've never been to Sweden, but strangely enough I don't think that moose is going to be the selling point. I'm actually a little surprised at myself that it isn't.
I DO love the places in Japan with tame deer, even though they're really annoying to the people that live there. The first one I saw was trying to pull maps out of my coat pocket. He was a little hard to fend off, actually. But it's so damn cute I think it balances out.

PS-- My art professors were commissioned to paint a giant buffalo stampede mural, which was actually a pretty big deal for the bank (which it was on) and the town, etc. But then later they commissioned someone ELSE to do a buffalo statue out front, and I remember my professor being super bitter about how ugly it was and telling me which parts were all wrong. I'm not saying he was wrong by "bitter" but the feelings were very much so. I always kindof laughed when I saw the buffalo after that.