Post Olympic Observations

• If Michaels Phelps is really double jointed in his elbows and knees, what is going on with his knee caps? I'm sure he has knee caps. If he didn't, everyone would know. But I'm having a hard time picturing a knee going backwards, even a little bit, with knee cap in the way.




• Staying with Michael, was anyone else concerned when he would run around with swimsuit pulled down WAY past his hip bones? Then he would start running around and screaming. I kept thinking that this boy was one celebratory jump away from being naked on international television.




• Mary Carillo is scary. They tried to pretty her up, but she's still a big scary man.




• One night when I couldn't sleep I ended up watching ping pong. I was really excited to watch something different since at that point I was sick to death of quarter final swims and dives. Unfortunately, that ping pong match was deadly dull. It put me right to sleep.




• There is a Yahoo site called Fourth Place Medal. Thank goodness for this site. They made sure that the stories that NBC didn't deem worthy enough got the attention they deserved.




• Those little Chinese gymnasts were so underage. All those medals should be revoked. But maybe since those girls were stolen from their parents when they were three and put in a school to learn how to perform or ELSE, they should get something. Instead of a gold medal though, I'm sure those girls who love to win a chance to go home and be a normal kid.




• Everyone is ga-ga over what a wonderful job China did with these games. How organized they were and how well run. How lovely the accommodations and venues were. But as the Man said, of course they were organized, the best criminals are very organized. Only by having a tight hand on everything they can get away with their crimes over and over again. The Chinese government just spent billions of dollars to prove to the world that the suppression of human rights are worth it; that they are not only making it work, but they are thriving. It all looked like a gorgeous, expensive mask to me.




• An American was murdered during the first day of the games. After the second day, they never mentioned it again, but I think it's important not to forget. Journalists were hassled, barricaded and occasionally detained with no explanation. There were serious censorship issues with the Internet. How many other stories did we not get to hear?




• I still love the Olympics. Here's to Vancouver!

The Olympics can change lives (or just living rooms)

I love the Olympics. Really, really, truly, truly love them. And I don't know why. I'm not a sporty kind of girl. I can't sit through an entire baseball or football game. But I'm going to actively waste the next two weeks sitting right here on the couch watching every little event. The kids are down with it now. Give it a few days. They will get sick of beach volleyball and me pretty damn fast.

Young newlyweds and homeowners, the Man and I had one little TV with a funky antennae wire that we would drape around lamps and out the front door to get reception. We really didn't care. But then the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer were coming up and I suddenly realized that the situation was unacceptable. We had cable TV a few days later. Go Team!

We still only had one TV and it was fairly small. We didn't care. But then the Summer Olympics in Atlanta were coming up. Our home had acquired these two demanding little people who kept me upstairs quite a bit. It didn't take much discussion on what had to happen to keep peace in our home. A short time, later I had a set in my bedroom, with cable. USA!

Our downstairs TV seemed to be shrinking. The dog had eaten the remote and the buttons on the set had snapped off from overuse. We had to use an unsharpened pencil to poke at the broken buttons to turn it on or change the channels. We didn't care. But then the Summer Olympics in Sydney were coming up and with Olympics being broadcast on multiple NBC channels, a change was needed. A trip to Best Buy and a great deal on a floor model graced our home with our current behemoth. (The pencil TV was sold in the next yard sale to be used just for video games. I hope it's still making people happy out there.)

It's been awhile since we've had an upgrade in our television situation. But be assured that when it happens again, an Olympic-sized event will probably be the cause.