Olympics Binge

As much as my intellectual side can be cynical about the Olympics--the cost, the doping, the commercialism, the challenges for the local economies--I get caught up in them every time.  Friday night, Mama brought home Brazilian food--lots of grilled meats, some cold avocado and also potato salads, a hot ham and cheese potato dish, a nice "beef pancake," a delicious flan, and some interesting guarana sodas--and we ate before watching the Opening Ceremonies.  We loved the dancing and the music.  I liked the weaving with the gigantic strands; the kids liked the dancing on the giant display floor and in the favelas.  The opening shots of people playing sports from overhead was neat, too.  We  didn't make it long into the Parade of Nations and, when we tried to watch the next morning, we realized our DVR hadn't gotten the torch lighting because the show went too long.

Since then, we've watched many sports, particularly ones we don't know well.

• We like rugby and marveled at how they pick each other up.  We saw several women's sevens games.  I remembered a lot of history of the school of Rugby, Thomas Arnold, Muscular Christianity, Samuel Smiles, and later WWI from my research into the paintings of boys fighting from William Mulready in the 1830s.  Mama and the kids were kinda surprised.
• Fencing was fun.  We saw epee and foil, which I did a little of in college--enough to try to explain parry, riposte, and right of way.  But these fencers move so fast that we could hardly see the touches in slow motion!
• Sis really liked dressage and enjoyed identifying the types of horses for us. 
• both trap shooting and air rifle 
• archery
• white-water canoeing
• both mens and women's gymnastics
• swimming
• synchronized diving--mercy, those Chinese women divers!
• some handball and water polo and field hockey
• and we won't be watching any golf or basketball

And there's so much more to look forward to.

Goodnight, London

We're watching the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics--it's like a big British pop concert, starting with what looked like Jubilee street parties.

• I loved the "Imagine" with the John Lennon sculpture.  
• Oh, the "Our House (in the middle of our street!)" song and the Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls."  Just makes me want to sing.
• And seeing George Michael takes me back 25 years!  I saw him in concert twice, one in Wham! and once on the Faith tour.  
• And Mama Teacher, now I know who One Direction is!  
• I couldn't have cared much less about those models, though.  
• Oh, Annie Lennox meets Zombie-Interview With a Vampire is fabulous, but what is that song?? 
• Hmmmm, losing me on the Russell Brand and octopus-eats-the-bus part.  I'm always a bit behind hip British culture/humor.
• Seems apropos---"we're trying to make the world dance/forget about the pricetag/ka-ching!"  Is that a Rolls Royce??
• Oooh, the octopus is dancing!
• Yeah, Dynamite!  Mama knows a song!
• Here come the Spice Girls!!!!
• OMG, Eric Idol and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life!!!!"  HRH Prince Harry was even singing!
• Bollywood dancers and Holi colors!
• Freddie Mercury . . . but the Queen part with the woman in the bodystocking left me lukewarm.

I think that's the end of the concert (mercy it ended suddenly on NBC, with that Welsh men's chorus.)  Now for the official goodbyes.  I'm going to miss you, London and the Olympics, you did a bang-up job . . . see you in Rio!

Olympic Fatigue

More than a week in, we are starting to feel some Olympic fatigue over here.  We're taping hours and hours everyday but end up erasing most of it (because we're out of space and/or uninterested)--the titling isn't reliable in the DVR and we just don't want to see that much water polo, beach volleyball, or boxing!  We have, however, enjoyed watching sports we almost never get to see during non-Olympic years, like archery, fencing, handball, badminton, table tennis, synchronized anything (diving, swimming), trampoline, skeet, trap, rowing, kayaking, whitewater, weightlifting, judo, cycling time trials, discus, shot, pole vaulting . . . and we still have a week to go!  We save the best tidbits for the kids, who are sometimes amazed (at synchronized swimming and diving, also fencing), and sometimes singularly unimpressed.  On dressage, Bud asked, "Is that a real sport?"  Yes, and the only one where men and women compete against each other.  Via horse.

There hasn't been too many little English culture vignettes of the type they did in Nagano, as I recall.  Just lots of lovely unidentified images of England (okay, Lambeth, what is the round, Norman-like castle, with round towers like Chepstow but with a less open keep and more symmetry?  ARGH!) and one piece on pubs (two of which I'd actually been to!).  Otherwise, the coverage is frustrating--all-American, unless someone else wins and then only that one athlete's performance, or unless someone is injured or fails, then we see that repeatedly (like the German gymnast Phillipp Boy).  And way too many moms and dads, in the stands or in the commercials.  But at least there aren't all those bios anymore.  We tried watching it streaming but only got tidbits not whole competitions, not sure why.

Still, it's been a real summer highlight for us and led to many interesting discussions, beyond geography and flag identification (which tests us every night.  Montenegro, anyone?).  "Mom," Sis asked, "why do the girl gymnasts have to do all that dancing [on the floor, vs. the male gymnasts]?"  Which led to a discussion of gender expectations--pretty and graceful vs. strong and powerful--and recognition that these "girls" were women and still very strong and powerful even with all the make up, frou frou outfits, and frilly moves.  We've also discussed that even though the commentators pick performances apart move by move that these are still some of the best athletes in the world and the critiques are more to clue us in to what the judges are thinking.  I didn't like that the kids mimicked the ubiquitous analyses with "Oh, he didn't do that well because his hand slipped." We also had to remind them of all of the years of practice that are behind the seemingly effortless performances.  And it doesn't always go as expected. When McKayla Maroney fell or Jordan Wieber didn't go to All-Around, we said that even the best in the world make mistakes and have bad days.  And of course, in the end, the majority of people there are just proud and happy to be there, with no expectations of winning.

So we keep recording and watching and enjoying their skill, our own education, and, frankly, distraction, and will be sad when the closing comes . . . .

Summer Fun: Keep Calm and Watch the Olympics

59.  Watch the Olympics.
60.  Host a culture night for England, Japan, India, Egypt, Thailand, Navajo, Ethiopia, or Carpatho-Russians.


With biscuits and candies from the European section of the regular grocery store, we spread out on the bed to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.  But we never saw the cows and sheep, only spotting the Clydesdales among the merry maypole revelers (did anyone else think Hobbits?).  I liked the four children's choirs from England, Scotland, Wales, and N. Ireland, as well as "Jerusalem." Sis and Bud enjoyed the fireworks but had a lot of questions about the Industrial Revolution--"Why would they build factories and tear up the grass?"  Indeed.  Interesting, as much as they've called it a celebration of Britain's gifts to the world (literature, music, healthcare, and industry.  And humor.), I wouldn't say the aesthetics of the factories and downtrodden workers actually made it look like a celebration of the Industrial Revolution; perhaps more an acknowledgment.  Of course, the significance of all the personages--Kenneth Brannagh, Simon Rattle, Mike Oldfield--save one, Harry Potter creator (and one of the only woman, save the hearing-impaired drummer whom we knew from "Sesame Street"), J.K. Rowling, were lost on them.  They (well, all of us) didn't get the giant baby, but we did like the focus on children's literature--but where was Winnie the Pooh?? (or Tolkien?  Or Narnia? Or Peter Rabbit?).  They found the 100' Voldemort entirely too upsetting and were glad that Mary Poppins got rid of him.  And you gotta love a country that celebrates its healthcare system, with real dancing doctors and nurses no less!  And they were good.  The kids didn't know Rowan Atkinson or "Chariots of Fire" but did appreciate his lightening up that section.  And Bud loved the fart!


Wait, I forgot to mention HRH The Queen.  But describing the mini-movie with James Bond and her very own corgis (it's been confirmed--those were her dogs and her actual page!) and especially the parachuting trick cannot be improved by my descriptions!  Talk about playing along.


We put them to bed after "Chariots of Fire" and watched the rest of it today.  Bud loved the music, though I'm not sure he cared much about the little love story.  Mama and I recognized the 80s music (No Wham!?  No Boy George?  No Elton? Much less that British creator of famous and successful musicals, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber??!!  Hopefully in the Closing Ceremony.) and some of the classics but none of the tv clips save Hugh Grant and Andie Macdowell.  Of course, we didn't know the inventor of the world wide web either (well, Mama might have).  I did like his "This is for everyone" message though--inclusive, like the rest of the ceremony.  


We raced through the parade of nations, stopping for Greece, China, Thailand, the United States, and Team GB, really liking how they planted their flags on the mock-up of Glastonbury Tor.  The speechifying and such were so-so but the torch coming in via Beckham and motor boat and then the cauldron being made of little cauldrons representing each nation was beautiful, especially being lit by young athletes!


After Paul McCartney, we began to watch some sports:  cycling road race (too bad about that crash), handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, table tennis, boxing, women's basketball, fencing (they liked that a lot), and swimming.  All while eating tasty British food we bought at the British shop a ways away:  beef and onion pies, beef and potato pies, Cornish pasties, Colliers cheddar cheese, Branston pickle, Fentiman's Rose Lemonade.  And we have a bunch more for later this fortnight, including a variety of chips (prawn, anyone?) and candy (Aero, which Sis likes).


We also pulled out our travel books and talked a bit about England--where it was, some of the history, what they might know from there.  Shakespeare was Bud's first contribution, then "the mother of Queen Elizabeth the first, who was beheaded by the man with all the wives" and "that's where the Pilgrims left from" and "They had so many taxes that the Americans left."  And "They had the Middle Ages!" There was also Robin Hood, King Arthur, Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall, castles, sheep, and discussions of my three visits there, twice with Mama.  We promised we'd try to take them there before they were 10.  I think that's when I called and left a message for you, Lambeth, my friend in England--are you going into London or staying well away for the next two weeks?


Tonight for dinner, being not very hungry, we had scones, jam, and clotted cream!  Which I prepared from a recipe from Nigella Lawson . . . while wearing my Jubilee apron!  (Bud thought I should get the tea towel that said, "Stay Calm and Drink Tea," even though he announced that he'd rather "Carry On" than "Drink Tea!")


God save the Queen!


-=-=-=-=-=-=-


Lily's Scones
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt and tbsp caster sugar if you prefer a sweeter scone
2 tsp baking soda
4 ½ tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons margarine or more butter
1 1/3 cup milk
1 large egg beaten for egg wash


Preheat oven to 425F.  Sift the dry ingredients together and rub in the butter thoroughly. Add the milk and stir very briefly. Knead lightly together on a floured surface. [It's important not to overwork scone dough] Roll out to approx 1 - 1 1/4" thickness and then cut into 12 scones.  Wash with egg wash.   Bake for 10mins until wonderfully soft and slightly golden.  Best eaten warm!

Variations:  3 oz. raisins, sultanas or cherries with zest of 1/2 an orange; OR 3 oz. mature cheddar and pinch of mustard powder 

'Lily's scones' from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess
Makes 12

Congrats and Best Wishes!

To London and Lambeth, on the opening of the 2012 Summer Games!

Wishing the world a wonderful Olympics!

(And a lot less Romney!)

Olympic Glory

We watched Women's Snowboard Cross this morning and the kids are now great fans of Lindsey Jacobellis. Regardless of her DQ this year or her fall in Torino 2006. They've been bouncing around the house, pretending to be snowboarders, saying she's coming over to play. I think they like the sound of her name. And couldn't care less about whether she won or not. Perhaps, the ideal fans.

Though, they also really like the sound of Maellle Ricker, the gold medalist's name, too.

Closing Words on the Opening Ceremonies

Mama and I didn't watch the ceremonies as closely after the speeches started. In fact, we missed k.d. lang completely, brushing our teeth, I think. But we managed to see the technical glitch that delayed the torch lighting and could only say how sorry we were for Canada--with the luger's death, rain instead of snow, thousands of protesters, and a missing cauldron support--it just wasn't the hoped-for beginning. Still, it was a moving opening day, one that we shared with the kids this morning.

While Mama packed us and the car, I entertained Sis and Bud with the Opening Ceremonies on speed, skipping all but the USA and Canada parts of the parade of nations, focusing instead on the glorious cultural bits. Predictably, they loved the welcome of the First Nations and then the theatrical tour across the Canadian landscape: Bud liked the acrobat over the prairie, the kayak floating in the sky, the "GrungeDance" (that's Goo-ese for Riverdance and Grunge) of the Scottish-attired punk fiddlers, the whales, the snowboarders and skiiers on the side of the mountain, the trees accompanied by Sarah Mclachlan's song, really, pretty much all of it, which he has already asked repeatedly to watch again. Sis liked the "star bear."

But soon the Olympics lost their star power as the time for our Chinese New Year celebrations approached. But we listened to k.d. lang and Sarah Mclachlan in the car all the way to NYC, trying to extend a little bit of the morning's "ordinary miracle."

More on our New Year's activities later on. It's time for bed.

More Olympics Opening Ceremonies

I liked the ad, with the kids doing all the winter sports, and the tag that to their moms they'll always be kids. Sure, it made me tear up.

But I'm still not going to be buying any Proctor and Gamble products. Too much animal testing.

Ah, cheers for the U.S. All things considered these days, that sounds good.

Here come the Canadians . . . . I can't wait to see the rest of the show.

I love the snow globe effect for the cultural part of the show. And that big bear! The aurora borealis! The whales! The totem poles!

And now it's Sarah Mclachlan--I like her song about ordinary miracles. And those trees!

I have a bazillion things I should be doing, but I'm liking watching this much more.

Olympics: First Peoples

Sis and Bud would love the part of the Opening Ceremonies where the four nations of the First Peoples around Vancouver, then joined by representatives of many of the First Nations of Canada, danced around the stage and then welcomed the athletes in the parade of nations.

And then the Georgian delegation, bereft of one of its members. What is there to say?

Let the Games Begin

The folding is done; Mama is on her way home.

And now I'm just unabashedly sitting in front of the tv watching the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

I'll cry like I always do at these things, like for the Saints a week ago, but this time tears of joy with sadness, as they've dedicated the ceremonies to the luger who died today.

Wow. All these pictures of mountains are making me a wee bit nauseous. But that was a pretty cool thing with the Maple Leaf and the entrance into the stadium through the Rings.

I'm kinda sorry I didn't let the kids stay up to watch. They came in a few times, feigning issues and injuries just to get a glimpse. Finally, they just climbed up in the bed and begged outright to watch. But since it was only interviews and histories, I sent them back to bed, despite Bud's protests that he saw snowboarding.

Anyway, I'm not going to live blog the Opening Ceremonies, though I'm off to a solid start. And I did just hear that tidbit about Queen Elizabeth being the actual head of state and why they played the Vice Regal of Canada, with a bit of "God Save the Queen" instead of just "O Canada." What little I know about our neighbors to the north. I'm sure I'll know more at the conclusion of two weeks.