Archive for the ‘olympics’ Category

We were watching the Olympics last night (when we really needed to be sleeping), and like everyone else, we heart Michael Phelps. This is what it sounded like to watch Michael Phelps race the 400m last night.

TV: The race begins, Michael, of course, immediately pulls into the lead.
Sherlock: Go Michael!
Me: It must be so demoralizing to be everyone else.
TV: And Phelps turns and pulls farther ahead.
S: It looks like he’s exerting no energy at all.
Me: Phelps takes a break for a Coke to give the other contenders a chance.
S: Phelps exits the pool… he walks to the vending machine… he picks… Cheetos! Michael Phelps has chosen Cheetos for his snack while the race continues.
Me: **laughing**
S: And Phelps pulls up a lounge chair to enjoy his snack. And now the rest of the swimmers have completed their first lap.

It continued that way for the duration of the race.

Later…

TV: And that completes Chellsie Memmel’s Olympics.
S: Security sweeps in and escorts Chellsie out of the arena.
Me: If she hurries, she can head over to the cube and try to snatch a few Cheetos from Michael Phelps before he jumps back into the pool to slaughter the rest of the swimmers in that 400m race!

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OMG! What an incredible race! Totally worth staying up until midnight for. The victory was even more delicious given the smack the French team talked prior to the race.

We had to move to the end of the bed, closer to the tv, to properly cheer. And cheer we did!

Go team USA!

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BTW, if you know results, please refrain from telling me. I hate when people tell me the outcome and ruin the watching experience for me. K thanks.

Oh, and if I’m blogging it, count on spoilers, in case you’re tivo-ing it.

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Can somebody please tell me Why TF NBC feels the need to put up banners that take up a quarter of the screen, effectively blocking the event I am watching? Honestly. A small, tasteful banner at the bottom displaying your peacock and whatever inane text would be more than sufficient. I know I’m watching NBC. But you know what, I’m watching it to watch the farookin Olympics, not to watch your farookin graphics. TONE IT DOWN, MORONS!

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in sort of live blog format, as I feel the need to update.

The drums at the beginning — well, I imagine if I were there, my heart would have been racing. It was so beautiful and just extraordinarily magnificent.

The children in costume carrying the flags, and the nine year old little girl who sang: so cute.

The calligraphy interpretive dance: eh. But I’m not one who especially enjoys dancing.

This bamboo scroll to printing press thing: a little weird.

The Coke commercial with the birds stealing straws who then make a mini Birds Nest stadium in a tree overlooking the Birds Nest Stadium: brilliant!

This just in: RTY has liked all the sparkly hats.

This dance where the girl danced on top of the group of people was really nifty.

This thing with the massive oars: quite beautiful. They are very artistic, are they not?

The fluorescent green Christmas tree people: I never really thought they were such bad little trees. The just need a little love.

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What the hell is going on with our Olympic athletes? First we had soccer player Abby Wambach break her leg. Then, Orlando’s own gymnast Shayla Worley broke her leg the day they announced the women’s gymnastics team. And now gymnast Paul Hamm is out due to complications during the healing of his broken wrist.

The American team is dropping like flies.

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Oh cool! I just learned that Jenn Stuczynski, who we were just watching in the olympic trials win the pole vault, is an alum of the first college I attended, Roberts Wesleyan College. That’s pretty cool.

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I’ve been emailing myself news stories I want to rant about, as has one of my faithful readers who apparently enjoys me ranting since she frequently sends me stories she knows will get me going, but I’ve been too busy at work to read them and form a response, and too tired and busy and Olympics at home at night to get it done. I also need to finish our taxes and get that filed, and we’re looking into something else that I need to spend time finding stuff for. But the Olympics are my main distraction right now. They’re robbing me of much-needed sleep, making me cranky and irritable (just ask my very patient husband who I love so much) and not fun to be around. Stupid Olympics.

On the bright side, I’ve been very productive at work, and getting a bunch of tasks I loathe completed. Which is eating into my rant time, too.

I’ll try to get something posted sometime today on at least one of the stories that caught my eye recently. Although, in my tired state, it may not end up a coherent rant… but then, some would argue they never are coherent anyway. Meanies.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for controversy, go read Frank J.’s recap on Partial-birth murder, and Jim’s post about racism in commercials. Also, look for another race-related post in Jim’s blog soon. I’ve read the draft and it’s thought-provoking, to say the least.

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so we just finished watching 24 (what a great show), and now we’re enduring ice dancing. and Jim is asking me tons of questions, like as if I follow this “sport” or know the first thing about these people. I don’t know, I don’t care. I’m only interested in it because of how many people fell last night. Falling made it more entertaining for the sick bastard in me.
Meanwhile, we’re both very entertained by the animosity between the Italian couple that fell last night. ouch, their anger is strong. And making us want to watch them.

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Earlier:
me: “I hope they put ice dancing on during 24 so we don’t miss anything good.”
Jim: “Me too.”

Now: ice dancing starts in 11 minutes. Woo hoo! 24 starts in 13 minutes.

Good timing, eh?

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Two sports I would love to do. Those people are nuts!
I like the ski jumping because of the insanity of being so high up in the air for so long - flying. Last night, the commentator said of ski jumping, “the difficulty is getting your body to do something your mind says is suicide.” What a great way to put it.
I like the ariels because they’re so cool and insane. Combines diving, gymnastics, and flying. Awesome! I wish I could do it.

If we had stayed in Colorado, I wonder if Jason and I would have done more with skiing? Our school used to be Monday through Thursday with ski trips on Fridays. Good times, good times. (This is the school I attend with Jared of Exultate Justi, which is how I know him.)

I want to go skiing. I’m hoping to go the weekend of March 4th as a birthday present to myself. But Jim is skeptical about our finances. What with the new lawn we just put in and all. Gosh I want to go skiing. I was granted the Friday off from work, so my plan is to drive to Atlanta Thursday night after work. Ski Friday in North Carolina with J’Lynn and Randal. And maybe Jason and Geta if they want to drive over from Nashville. Some leisure time on Saturday, and then come home either Saturday night or Sunday morning. It’s cheaper to ski on a Friday than a Saturday.
I hope we get to do this trip.

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I just don’t see the point.
Meanwhile, I’m ticked off at Fark for ruining the Olympics for me today. This is the first Olympics post I’ve seen on their site. And now I’m going to have to avoid their site until after the Olympics are over. Farking Fark. Grrrrrr.

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This is a new event in the Olympics and one I’ve never seen before. What a great, fun-to-watch event! It’s like watching real life SSX (a game we have for our PS2). How fun!

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Now this piece I know. We sang Orff’s Carmina Burana my senior year of high school, and then we sang this in the Bach Festival Choir a few years ago. A fabulous piece of music!
But will the commentators bother taking 2 seconds to say, “he’s skating to a medly of songs from Carmina Burana.” so that the uninformed can go buy the cd, and educate themselves with classical type music? No, they won’t
Honestly. I think some people might be inclined to track down the music if it’s a fabulous piece like this one is. Oooh, I know… have the NBC olympics site list their songs with a link to iTunes to make it easier to download the music. That’d be something.
The skater wasn’t great. Or even all that good, for that matter. But the music was Carmina Burana. ’nuff said.

Update: Jim reminded me “people will know that song, it’s the Tower of Terror commercial.” Yes, that’s true. And it was in some movies…

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My what incredible stage presence he has. It’s a shame he’s made so many errors. He has so much personality on the ice and is just so engaging. Not sure who he is or what country he represents, but I could watch him over and over again. Very entertaining. He does a weird head and arm position on his sit spins. He did it three times. I liked it the first time, but the second and third it wasn’t special anymore. But unique - I’d never seen that position before.
Jeffrey Buttle from Canada.
That answered that. Wow, that’s a huge point difference between the Russian who skated second and Canadian who skated third. But if it were based on entertainment value/personailty, the Canadian would clean up.
Don’t get me wrong, the Russian was amazing, as I expected him to be, as he’s been every time I’ve seen him skate. But the Canadian was so entertaining.

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