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And I do mean brief. I ought to be sleeping even as I type this, since I have a very early day tomorrow. That's an idea. I'll sleep as I type. You won't know the difference, unless I dream. On second thought, I'll type first, then sleep. I'm glad I sorted that out.

My cold is almost at an end. I don't enjoy being ill. I have learned something valuable from this bout of unwellness, though. For the past year and a half I've suffered from heartburn on a daily basis. Since I have had this cold, however, I have experienced it only once. I attribute this to the fact that I have eliminated carbonated beverages from my diet and replaced them with fruit juice. Instead of soda, which I ordinarily drink when I'm not drinking tea or coffee, I drink orange juice or grape juice or cranberry grape juice or kiwi strawberry juice or some kind of fruit punch. I feel less thirsty when I drink juice and it doesn't keep me awake when I need to sleep. It's better for one's teeth, too. I always knew it was healthier, but I hadn't realized how much better it makes one feel. Goodbye heartburn and evil cola companies! I don't miss you!

This brings me to something else I don't miss: cigarettes. As of the last week of September, I have abstained from smoking cigarettes for one full year, and I don't mind saying I'm rather proud of myself for that. It isn't easy "going cold turkey" after being a pack-a-day smoker for years. And it isn't easy for anyone else in proximity. Other members of my family were able to quit without any noticeable effects. My paternal grandmother reflected that she would save money if she quit smoking, so she quit. Just like that. My maternal grandmother decided it would be nice if her house didn't smell of smoke, so she quit. Just like that. My mother quit when she was pregnant with me. My father quit when he discovered his insurance rates would be lower, and he only smoked the occasional pipe or cigar. Could it be that simple for Yours Truly? No, it had to be a melodrama of nicotine withdrawal. Well, I made it to the first anniversary, and life is much better one year later. I can assure you of that.

I wish I could give as glowing an account of the last two matches of the Women's World Cup last Sunday in Portland. In an inverse of the U.S. team's match against North Korea the previous week, it was defeated by Germany 3:0, and a thorough thrashing it was. As much as I wanted my team to win, I can't deny that the Germans played valiantly, with a near suicidal derring-do. Germans were falling and colliding all over the place with a seemingly fatalistic desperation to snatch victory from the reigning World Champions. In one memorable moment the heads of two German players came together as both leapt to headbutt the ball simultaneously. Ouch. It was scary, really. But they deserved their victory -- they earned it. I'll watch Germany and Sweden battle for the Cup, hoping Germany wins, and I'll watch the U.S. and Canada fight over third place, hoping the U.S. wins. If Canada wins, that's O.K., too. The U.S. will be back.

I'd really like to know why we don't have professional women's soccer in the States, though. It isn't as if there is a dearth of interest in this country, the place where soccer is so popular amongst young persons that the term "soccer mom" had to be coined. It doesn't make any sense, does it? It's a double standard, of course, and we shouldn't stand for it in the dawn of the 21st Century. Where are the visionaries with capital who can make this happen? We have one of the greatest women's soccer teams in the world! Why can't we give them the professional environment they deserve?

I finished reading Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming. I can understand why it was never adapted as a Bond film, except as a spoof that had only its title and a reference to baccarat in common with the novel. The movie Bond is an action hero who has very little to say other than perfectly timed witticisms and who has no motivation other than to save the world and bed the beautiful vixen. The literary Bond, although he is a man of action and a womanizer, is a more complicated character who both thinks and speaks more than his motion picture counterpart. He speaks so much at times, in fact, that I couldn't imagine any of the Bond actors saying his lines. Movie Bonds just don't have much to say. Timothy Dalton comes closest, I think, because his Bond is the most human and, therefore, most believable. Gambling is central to the novel, which does not lend itself easily to cinema, and there are other situations that would contradict the aura of invincibility that is the common attribute of the movie Bonds. I can't really say more without spoiling the story for those who wish to read it. You can read the plot summaries of the Bond novels at Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.

I started reading Live and Let Die and I could tell immediately that it is better suited to film adaptation.

'Tis half past two in the morning. Time to sleep. Goodnight!