Welcome to Gaia! ::

Happy Friday, friends of science! Sorry if I sound a little stuffed up-- this week I traveled to the far North to investigate our newest REI, Polar Tear. But don't worry about me! I've been chugging medicinal syrups like they were whiskey. Well, I've been drinking a lot of whiskey too, but you know, medicinally. Like grandma would have told me to. That lady loved giving folksy medical advice.

But this cold's got nothing on me! The thought of a new REI is enough to stoke the fires of my soul, so sit down and let me describe the items before I fall asleep standing up!

Polar Tear - Far in the frosty North, at that time of year when the sun never quite lifts the morning over the horizon and the long months are covered in perpetual twilight, an ice sculptor named Pétur waited out the winter. For many years, Pétur and his wife, Ísa, had spent the dark months in each other's loving company, but the previous winter, a sudden, jealous illness stole Ísa from Pétur forever. His tools sat in their case, unused for several months before, in the pale light of what-- at any other time of year-- might have been morning, the ice sculptor felt a strange longing to walk out to the glacier, where the ancient ice slept...

Will Pétur reach a powerful emotional climax before he loses his nose to frostbite? Only time will tell, so check back next week! For now, swing by our weekly EI poll to tell us which items are your favorite. Have a great weekend, Gaians!