A Bolt out of the Blue

During this Olympics cycle, I have had great difficulty separating the events from their context. China is the world's worst offender as regards transplant tourism, and has a shoddy record on other human rights matters. The Olympics might as well have been city-hosted by Rangoon or Pyongyang. China gets the gold in the ethics bottom-fishing competition.

Having once been a happy expat in Taiwan, I was not happy to hear the Taiwanese contingent called, during the opening ceremony, "Chinese Taipei." 

Greetings:  Someone the other day mentioned "Syncronized pole dancing".  I keep watching so I don't miss it.   The US won a gold in sailing, but alas, there is no TV coverage.  I guess I'll have to wait for the exciting "Curling" competition next winter games. 

OK,

It is time for people toTHINK AS YOU TYPE.

Recently I read where someoen was talking ( back in the hempen topic) about some substance being  "not aloud"  and another veteran eyester referred to a story that "somes up" a position. We are people who were supposedly attracted by the writing. That means we know how to spell.

And today, JP himself perpetuated someone's mistake: Unless corrected, I believe it is PETANQUE, not PENTAGUE that involves the throwing and/ or rolling of balls.

Lettuce be moor vigiliant

And be sure to let me know when the pole dancing coverage begins. 

OK,

I knew it would happen. SOMEONE, not someoen was talking. Typos is typos, but we ought to be payinng attention...

OK,

P-A-Y-I-N-G

Petanque seems to be right in the piece. I think q looks like a g in this typeface. Maybe we should form a LOBBY to get the typeface bumped up. And what's wrong with speed typing (without mistakes) as an Olympic event?

While PETANQUE (sorry, JP-not getting at you, just glad to note that you're as human as we), or bocce, or boules, or bowls, would be an amusing addition to Olympic contests, The true advantage, or entertainment value, of such a competition, in my estimation, would be the colorful attendant practices which must accompany the main process. While to the casual observer the object is ostensibly to move les boules relative to the jack from a proscribed position, aiming for proximity and the baffling of your competitor's purposes, there is subtext which must be recognized as the true sport. Time (and judging) would have to be allowed for arm-waving controversy and argument (including some which would actually be about the match itself) between the competitors. Regulation attire should be a black beret, baggy slacks, shapeless jumpers (oops, sweaters over here), and sensible shoes for the men, cardies and skirts and flats for the ladies. The bibbing of local beverage must be given its position of importance as well. Commentary would be continuous from mustachioed sages and grannies in scarves from the sidelines. Children on skates and bicycles should be recruited to circle the periphery, and a long stretch of road or a suitable field would need to be commandeered for the afternoon's event. The logistics are impressive and detailed. I'm all for it, already thinking of which outfit I'd obtain from the latest Owner's Manual (as if I need an excuse-but really, I've NOTHING to wear!) to do my part upon the green...

Willie you must recognize the humanity of your colleagues. Even I, yes I, armored Typo Mistress and enemy of misspellings everywhere, do occasionally fail to catch a mistake in this rapid and ephemeral forum. I go over and over my submissions, but as anyone knows who writes regularly, sometimes the more you look, the less you see. So, I always try to get an objective pair of eyes to scan my emails or other missives when they are of critical importance. I confess to a small degree of schadenfreude when I receive official communications containing typographical errors, evidence that I'm not the only one who gets in a hurry sometimes. (Oh, the SHAME!) However, I believe we must be tolerant of the errata here, in view of the more or less spontaneous nature of the discourse. And, we can usually figure out what we meant to say, anyway :P

Speedtyping would work, if you got the right uniforms.

I am so unused to being wrong. ( though you can see I am getting lots of practice)  JP used P-E-N-T-A-Q-U-E , which is what the film poster used. By the way, is that an old Benny Hill piece or just his music? I am still ready to believe that is the word in some  language, but I believe the N belongs in the second half of the word. I am way too gunshy to try to spell "syllable" right now.

Funny piece in the NYer ( shouts and murmurs) about meeting participation as an olympic sport. 

Indigo, indigo, indigo, indigo

Cobalt and Ultramarine

Lapis and Sapphire and Robin's egg too,

and Navy, you know what I mean. 

I agree with Mr. Trask. Speedtyping uniforms are essential. Bikinis, of course, for the women. Maybe to increase the athleticism there can be a running start to the typewriter/computer.

And speaking of Mr. Bolt,  in my day the 100 yard dash was the measuring stick. If someone ran 9.3 he was fast. 9.1 I think became the record. Jim Brown, the football player was a 9.6 guy. I wonder what Bolt's time would translate to: 8.9?

My favorite part of the Olympics was also the most annoying:  The opening ceremonies.  Brilliant Chinese film director, Zhang Yimou, has a gift for spectacle, substance, and vivid use of color.  But why would he, of all people, be promoting the Chinese government.  When his movie, Ju Dou, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989, those who submitted it were "disciplined".

And why did the Chinese government ask Zhang to do it?  Didn't they see To Live?  The Chinese government asking Zhang Yimou to promote their regime is like George Bush asking Michael Moore to promote the war in Iraq.

Bolt's and Phelp's performances clearly hightlight my top individual performances, but didn't anybody watch the 4x100 IM relay? THE defining moment of the first week of competition was Phelp's primal scream for beating the rival French who had been talking smack. NBC TV personalities were clearly ordered to pursue the angle that Phelps was only that happy because his shot at eight gold medals was still intact. Not so fast. Didn't any of them watch the race? That race was about beating a rival, about winning when the chips are down, and about Jason Lezak's fastest relay split time EVER. And how about USA women's soccor upsetting rival Brazil? Or USA softball LOSING? An argument could be made that's the biggest upset of the games.

Another thing I love about the Olympics is watching niche sports: handball, fencing, and others. 

My nomination for creepiest event: Men's synchronized diving. 

I love the Olympics. Just love them.

No one has mentioned the poor little girl who wasn't "cute" enough to open the ceremonies with her face as well as her voice?

or Michael Phelp's mother sinking into the stands as she thought he lost to the Frenchman.

Voila! M'sieur Peterman corrige son erreur! Du monde les tours maintenant comme il foudrait...

or is it Michael Phelps' ...with all these grammatical sticklers around here I can't be too careful. One of the most annoying  would have to go to Shawn Johnson for pretending to be proud of her teammate...Nastia...for beating her. Yeah, right.

You have to love Michael Phelp's mom, history shares how determined a mom can be to watch her son participate...

...As was typical in Greek society, the games were open only to men. In addition to all of the athletes being male, the trainers were men as well. The article tells of a mother, so determined to see her son compete, that she dressed as a man to watch his competition. When her son won the event, she jumped over the barrier and revealed she was a woman. From that point on the trainers had to be naked along with the athletes.

I think if this regulation was reinstated, there would be even more favorite moments! : )

I saw & heard the clip of Pole Vaulter Jenn Stuczynski's coach actually yelling at her form the stands as to WHY she didn't get the gold medal. It shcoked me here's this girl who only just really started in this event winning a SILVER MEDAL in the OLYMPICS & being Berated for doing so.... It really shocked me along with the scandal of the little girl's face, the gymnastics scoring, & China as a whole not even trying to keep promises made to the IOC in order to get the games...

I did enjoy what I saw of Phelp's & his mother & sister have even won Cynical Little Me over, happy that  Bolt won he derserved it ~ Stunned about the U.S. Softball team.... Of course one of the most interesting arguements in these games was about Spain's Synchronized Swim Teams suits, I mean really HOW DARE THEY get them fitted with TWINKLING LIGHTS... What in the world were they thinking?!...... 

And for my FINAL DEEP OLYMPIC THOUGHTS of Bejing  ~ I am still am pondering that when one Olympic High Divers realizes they are no longer even close to medal contention if the thought runs thru their heads to just do that D&MN CANNONBALL off of the platform to just cause a little bit bigger SPLASH going into that pool....   

I have three Olympic moments...one high, one low, one just "amazing". And I would like to propose an Olympic event for London in 2012.

One: High Point: Michael Phelps....8 gold!  Lesson learned. Determination and training pay off.

Two: Low Point: Our U.S Relay Teams (male & female) ......the best in the word, drop the baton and get disqualified. Lesson learned. No matter how great you are, you can make a mistake.

Three: "Amazing":  The open water 6.2 mile swim.  These participants swimming at a furious freestyle pace took water, gatorade and energy gel breaks but didn't break their swimming stroke.  Lesson learned:  I swim triathlons....I have to learn to do that swimming energy drink break and not lose my stroke!

Proposed Olympic Event:  Synchronized Pole Dancing......and in the spirit of the original games, naked female athletes only.  I haven't been to London in many years.....2012 sounds like a very good year to visit, but only if they have this event.  I'll volunteer to be a judge...no salary required.....it would be a public duty. (Every four years!)

IMHO, this whole spectacle proves yet again the old Vulcan proverb:

"Only Nixon could go to China..."

Indeed they make Zen masters look like Montessori kids. So much MEANING, so few words!

*dissolves into a fit of giggles*

ExPat:

Don't forget that one of the female open water swimmers is an ampute and I think she finished 16th!!!!

Capt Neptune,

How about "Curling"on a lake with patches of thin ice?  Or, have a summer version on the beach with brooms flailing and sand flying.

ExPat

Nice to run into another triathlete. Good on ya, mate!

To: Agent666,

In my last triathlon if I couldn't have finished 16th in the women's wave with both my legs I'd have been happy. My "proudest" moment is when the women's wave overtakes me and those very agressive women are shouting encouragement to me! I do start to swim faster...encouragement (or is that humiliation) is a great motivator.

Hey! ExPat is working very hard on his swimming!  If you have ever done a triathlon or swam competitivly, you know how much has to go into the training as well as the competition itself.  I have a very large soapbox on this one as I am a swimmer and have met too many runners and cyclists that think they can just easily slip that ol' swimming leg into the mix and be a great triathlete.  Doesn't happen.  The cardio required of a swimmer is way over that of a runner/ cyclist and that is why ExPat is using swimming to cross-train for those two.  And that is why I also think a triathlon should be added to the games.  The media talks about the decathelon as being the "ultimate" but get those guys to try putting swimming into the equation and see how they do..

As for the grammar/typo problem, I have been through the re-reading thing up front and personal.  My husband's book is out and how many times we read and re-read it and how many typo's we missed was embarrassing.  Good thing we had a great publisher, although somebody found a typo even after all that.  Originally, we had spell-check hooked up with this site but when things got up-graded a few months ago, that was lost.  Mr. P., any way to get that back again? 

Was it just me?  Beach vollyball, in white suits, in the rain?  The only thing missing was the mud pit.  Those two could certainly be on the poll dancing team.

To: Spinner, 

Thanks.

To: Agent666,

I would have to agree with you about the "creep" factor in men's synchronized diving.....it just seems to go against all things "normal"....and normal is a pretty loose and relative term to me.

I just came home from watching a bit of mens diving. I'm always awed anc wonder when the divers first got the nerve to try those crazy moves for the first time...But....ehile we're talking creep factor....why do they always show the divers showering after they dive. How urgent is it that they rinse off that they can not wait until after the scores are in???

If we can just make it to 2:30 EST, we can watch the men take down the gold in BB. It would be nice if they explained the urgency of the rinsing off.

If I were president of the I.O.C I would definitely take cameras out of the shower. Goodnight all and let's keep sticking those landings.