Guilt

I have added an image to the header bar of this blog, and I suppose I should explain what it is. It's a detail of a beautiful little piece of scrimshaw created by a Swedish artist named Viveca Sahlin, located through the evil power of a Google image search and plucked from the Web, cropped, and altered by Ahab -- thereby straining to near the breaking point the concept of fair use.

I have never met Ms. Sahlin, and have not asked for permission to use this image here. Perhaps, however, my linking to her Web site (especially its "For Sale" page) -- and giving her full credit for a beautiful piece of work -- will cause her to forgive me the infraction. Here's hoping.

"Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."