People of the Games

It's getting close to the final fanfare, where the endearing stars of the past couple weeks become simple champions of their obscure sports. I have my favorites but I must say that my faves have been limited to those featured on NBC primetime because Laura Anne is absolutely right, I needed cable to truly appreciate this Olympiad. Damn, I saw about 3 minutes of curling!

How could you not enjoy Askel and Bjorn Svindal? Askel is just simply bad-ass and has what might be the greatest name in the history of nomenclature!...Askel Lund Svindal...yeah, born to win! And Bjorn...the only father who might have as much intensity as Bjorn is Yuki Ohno (maybe). When his son placed silver in an Alpine event they panned to Bjorn and he looked as if someone had kicked him in the balls, tore his heart out for dessert and fed it to Bode Miller. Total Devastation! I LOVE THE PASSION!!!!

Hannah Teter and crew...wow! These chicks are cool, way too cool. Almost too cool for the games itself! I'm almost certain Bleiler and Teeter had ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms before the big halfpipe event. I think you are allowed to do that in halfpipe. In fact, maybe you are required. Singing, dancing, laughter and smiles after botched runs.....these girls are cool, it's all good! I LOVE THE HALLUCINOGENIC SPIRIT!!!!!
(I must admit I was quite annoyed however when they were allowed to slide out of the gate and stop to sit, think, and stew. Screw that! Turn up the ipod and just bomb it ladies.)

Yeah, that's right, Mary Carillo! Whether she's pounding brew with lumberjacks or rolling around the icy tundra with blind sled dogs, I just can't get enough!! I need more Mary Carillo in my life. They should give to her an entire cable network and call it the Mary Carillo Channel. I would then have to get cable and adjust my entire day around watching her fascinating human interest segments. More Mary Carillo I say!!!

Vonn...ick, Mancuso...please! Forget these drama queens. Babe of the Mountain honors easily go to the Slovenian superhottie! MMMM Tina Maze, I think I'm in love! Or at least superhottie lust! It always happens during an Olympics and I suppose it's a significant part of the magic. C'mon now, admit it! You know what I'm talking about!!

In Norway they call Petter Northug, "The Wolf" I say he looks the part. Had only one chance to see him in a relay race (the 4X10K) where he carried the anchor leg. By the time he was tagged team Norway was almost 40 seconds out of the lead, from what I understand this is an insurmountable distance in this event. Over the next 6 miles he rallied and in dramatic fashion he somehow, someway claimed silver. Had he been given another kilometer he would have won for certain. This guy is a titan in a sport of cardio-kings! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE TENACITY!!

Now I only saw this guy they call, "Baby Huey" long enough for him to be identified but he left a lasting impression. Pete Lavin's function at the games was to, "motivate the US alpine skiers". From what I gather, he accomplishes this goal by shouting with loud authority at ski stars as they brace for another death-cheating run down impossible slopes. I'm guessing that being drunk is an important function of, "The Motivator" role but this wasn't clarified.
check it out yourself http://www.mefeedia.com/news/28923745

Of course, sometimes the real story is the story behind the story. It was simply amazing how Shaun White dominated his event. Seemed like there was little to no real competition...and that's half true. Kevin Pearce, the man who was to challenge The Flying Tomato for gold, landed on his neck while attempting a Double Cork in a training run last month. Miraculously he has been discharged from intensive care and is beginning his long road of rehabilitation. Whether he's able to ever walk or compete again is still a mystery of the stars and his will. White made it all look academic but Pearce makes it look real. Now you know!

btw

Go Canada....I mean Sharks....I mean Canada....I mean Sharks....uh huh.

Doing Her Part

Was strolling downtown and noticed this presidential lineage display in the window of Borders. At first glance I thought it must be some kind of conspiracy weirdness...but in a Borders?! Upon closer review an 11 year old and her grandpa have been quite busy:

Salinas, CA -- Oct 23 A seventh-grader in Central California made headlines today with the announcement about her discoveries into President Obama's past. BridgeAnne d'Avignon, a seventh-grader at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville, with the guidance of her eighty-year-old grandfather, has researched the ancestry of all the U.S. presidents. She discovered that all the presidents but one are cousins, with a common ancestor in King John "Lackland" Plantagenet, signer of the Magna Carta. The odd president out is Martin van Buren, whose Dutch ancestry did not link into every other presidents' English lines, although he is a cousin to a few presidents through different ancestors.
BridgeAnne spent her summer compiling the information and collaborating on creating a chart to display it. She hopes to deliver a signed and framed version to President Obama in person. The chart will be officially unveiled on October 28 at Monte Vista Christian School.


Things that make you go hmmmmm, every president aside from Van Buren are distant cousins traced back to the King of England. An 11 year old figures this out.

Are u related?...find out at her website:
http://weareallrelated.com/page.php?6

(I refuse to see if I'm a primo...I wouldn't want to have to consider my candidacy, or worse...commission an exploratory committee)

Dissecting the passion (and other olympic pontification)

I'm a huge sucka for the olympic games. Something so magical about it all that I just can't exactly put a finger on. I'm an enchanted sucka for it all though; the pageantry of the opening/closing ceremonies, the obscurity of sports you hardly ever see but every 4 years, the fantastic displays of ability, the stunning life-threatening wipeouts, the spectrum of human emotion, chiseled athletes sculpted from uncountable workouts (of relentless fury)

I adore the idea of the nations of the world coming together for some purpose other than war. As an adult (hahahaha) this is my favorite aspect of the olympics. I believe a worldwide cease fire should be declared every time the cauldron is lit.

When I root down on it, there were three distinct and keen marketing gimmicks (aren't they always so keen?) that fueled the formative passion early on, which may also account for my olympic love to this day:

1.) It was either X-mas '79 or my birthday when I received a toy tractor trailer truck. It was an ABC broadcast communications center emblazoned with the 1980 Lake Placid logo. It was a cool toy and I loved it. I have hazy recollections of watching bobsledding that time around. I certainly don't remember the 'miracle on ice' but I do remember how fired up everyone was (and still is) about it. Eruzione played for BU and it was a huge, huge deal in beantown (and everywhere else)...ya, you already know that part.

I'm sure my tractor trailer eventually made it to the landfill. It's probably a rusty mess nowadays, the Howard Cosell stickrey faded to oblivion.

2.) EPYX games series for the Commodore 64....Got an email from Laura Ann this week. She stated on Facebook (the cult) that watching the olympics made her yearn for the good times of '85 and playing Winter Games on the Commodore 64 in the basement. Several friends and family members agreed and so do I....although I'm not sure we had Winter Games. I know for a fact we had World Games and California Games. We also had Summer Games 1 or 2 or both. For the hundreds of hours I sat in the basement, 10 going to 20, you think I would be able to ascertain the digital facts (can you show me where it hurts)

Yeah, EPYX rocked my video game world, fueled my fascination for sitting down sports and probably influenced my wandering to a small town on the Central Coast of California....I always endorsed myself on team Santa Cruz Skateboards. (Never learned to skate til I got here btw) Did some Wikipediaing bout the Redwood City company to find out it faded away in the 90's. Some kind of trademark infringement suit eventually did 'em in. Hey, it's all about being bought out or sued to death in a free market that hardly reflects freedom.

3.) Barcelona '92 Triplecast...widely considered a $100 billion mistake by NBC, I couldn't disagree more. The Triplecast was absolutely brilliant and will inspire how broadcasting of the olympics happens over the internet in future games. The Triplecast was WAYYYY ahead of it's time and cable tv was too fucking young to handle it...like giving the keys to the ferrari to an 8 year old.

The goal was to have wall-to-wall coverage of events in there entirety...but it was handled through a pay-per-view format and people just didn't pay. We didn't! Hey how the hell did we get triplecast?!?

The couch potato(e) in all of us applauds wildly for wasting the cherished days of August watching 10+ hour spans of decathlon! I believe that tv is shifting into a pay-per-view, on demand format where you will eventually buy everything you want to watch, when you want to watch it. This means in future games I will be able to watch curling til my eyes bleed and I'm quite happy about that.

I can't believe that was '92! I thought for sure it was the '88 games but I be wrong!!

Undoubtedly

without question, my favorite superbowl commercial this year. I won't be buying a Kia Sorento, but I will enjoy its ad

keep fucking that chicken!

I googled...

..."vigilante justice"

Making it Easy

A rash of jewelry store burglaries on the Central Coast in recent times; Watsonville, Mountain View, Gilroy. Authorities are working to link the crimes. I'm curious too.

Was watching a piece on 60 Minutes last Sunday about the, "Pink Panthers," a collective of 200 thieves from old Yugoslavia who have banded together to heist $340 million worth of jewelry in more than 160 robberies in at least 26 countries. Their prolific track record is only trumped by their tactics. Most of the robberies happened in under 30 seconds. Cells organized in groups of 5 or less work in cooperation to first scout a vulnerable target and then attack it. Security camera footage is stunning! These guys are ultra fast and completely organized, they know EXACTLY what they are looking for and then they are gone, without a trace.

Any criminal mind would certainly be inspired by this expose but let's not finger point at 60 Minutes too much, this surely has the makings of an awesome hollywood heist flick before too long (I'm a huge fan of the genre.)

I won't be surprised to hear of similar copycat acts worldwide as their legend grows.

B and Not B - Breaking the Law (Immigrant Song)

I had the great privilege of joining an intimate crew of friends for Dabee's birthday/CD pre-release party in SF during the weekend. The album is insane and almost available. I got myself a copy but sorry my friends, you must buy your own (it is soooo worth it!)

This video is a recent promo for the band. B and Not B isn't known for covers but this is just absolutely classic. I heard the van will roll once again soon so LOOK OUT SAN FRANCISCO!

http://bandnotb.com/

Doing His Part

What on earth happened to Garfield?

What is this filth? What happened to the comic I once loved as a child? What is happening in the world as I know it? I tried ignoring it, but this has gone on too far. Garfield must be stopped. He has sold out. Garfield, why? Why is Jon Arbuckle dating Liz, the veterinarian? How has this happened? Where is the humor that used to be there? I demand the Sentinel take down Garfield. It is a right of all people to read the comics they like, and Garfield should not be on that list anymore. Garfield must be ended.

Nicholas True, Santa Cruz

Holden Caufield says...

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

RIP J.D. Salinger....and thank you for the unphony baloney...goddamn!