Olympics Special

We're off for a few days, so I probably won't be posting anything for a while.


In the meantime, you might enjoy some Olympics-related links to get you all warmed up for Beijing. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Ryan Hall in the men's marathon.


In our house, we love the Olympics. We've loved them ever since Peter was 2 years old. During the 2000 Olympics, Peter loved watching the diving competition, which, for some reason, we had recorded for him. He watched the tape of the diving medal rounds until it was just about worn out. He was especially captivated by the Chinese divers. Sociable little guy that he was, he would walk up to strangers and tell them "My favorite divers are Jia Hu and Tian Liang. Who are yours?"


Better than watching Barney over and over, I guess.


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First up, a blast from the Olympics past. I think this might be my favorite Olympics moment ever: Kerri Strug sticking the team-gold-winning vault on one foot.


And my saying that really means something, given what some people have called my "obsession" with Mary Lou Retton. It's hardly an obsession. I met her in a mall in Kentucky in the mid 90's, after she'd done a chicken cooking demonstration, sponsored by Tyson. It was awesome -- they had set up a kitchen in the middle of the mall, and Isabel and I sat in the audience of about 80 (which was, coincidentally, also the average age of the people in the audience). On the back wall of the kitchen, a screen showed MRL's Olympic highlights. The last scene of the film was of her getting a perfect 10 and raising her arms. At that moment, the real Mary Lou came out from under the screen, raising her arms up. She cooked some chicken for us, and then we got to meet her. She and I chatted for a few minutes, and she signed a picture for me (I still have it -- along with the chicken cookbook from Tyson). I told her I was happy that she always seemed happy, and that she still seemed happy, because so many young gymnasts seem miserable and stressed out. She's a lovely young lady.


And that's all I'll say about my Mary Lous Retton "obsession."


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Next up: A video from Barats and Bareta, who did the Mother's Day video that I had to remove. This one is called Olympian, and it reminds me a little of some parents I know.


But not of us, of course.

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This next video involves an Olympic Curling match (match? game? bout? no idea). Curling involves sliding a stone along ice, while three teammates using brooms to slow down or speed up the stone as it heads toward a target. It's big in Canada, which explains a lot. Watch the first 15 seconds of the video for a demonstration.

And then at about 0:16, the cemera shot changes to an overhead view. Watch the lefthand side of the screen, and you'll see a streaker run along the side of the court/rink/whatever. For the rest of the video, the announcers try to not mention the streaker, since they don't want to encourage other streakers. Because of the view, you can't really see anything offensive. But listen carefully for someone asking "Is he Scottish?"

I include this only to ask, What kind of a cry for help must it be to streak during a curling match? I mean, World Cup Soccer, sure. But curling?

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This year's Olympics Mascots inspired this top ten list of all-time best Olympic Mascots.


Strudel is very fond of #6 -- "A fine German bredd, though debased for international marketing purposes" was her comment before going back to her nap." She's been complaining again lately because she hasn't been allowed to post. I'm guessing I'll need to give in soon.


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This story is a couple of months old. It's about a sumo wrestler who beat his apprentice with a soup ladel. The reason? "I asked him to do something, which I don't remember exactly, but he couldn't do it."


Sumo wrestling isn't an Olympic sport, but the link reminded me of a story. When I was about two, I got tired of my brother's teasing, and I hit him in the head with a soup ladel. If I'm remembering this story correctly, he didn't need stitches. But the next day was the day they checked everyone for lice in school, and my brother had to explain the nasty cut on his head to the school nurse.


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Enjoy the Olympics. Get inspired or something.