Olympic Observations and Liam 'Lympics

Liam watches Thursday's weather and wishes it on Vancouver, they need it

The word Olympic most often comes up in connection with the word Olympian and is plural as in Vancouver 2010 Olympics. An Olympian is an athlete taking part of these events. This week's title is both. Observations about the Vancouver Olympics as well as Olympic Observations. A play on words? Sure.

Olympic
adjective
15th century

1- Olympic, of or relating to the Olympic Games
2- lofty--superior, elevated in character and spirit, impressively high. Observations of a superior blogger and Olympics lover.

so here are some lofty, Olympic observations of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics:

1- The Sports
Fast Track, Snowboarding, aerial skiing, ski jumping, mogul (see upside down person in next pic) and the downhill. Folks that compete in these sports are rogues, unconventional spirits, possessed, inspired. Their mettle is different from most people. They compete because they love it and the medal is just a sweet by product. In some of these sports just being the last one standing gets you to the podium and lands you a medal.

2-Skating costumes
What are the ice dancers thinking? The costumes in the ice dancing short program are some of the most hokey, tasteless, and offensive outfits ever created. Vera Wang, where are you?
Did you see the pair with the leaves pasted on their shoes and body glitter glue? They professed to be honoring the aboriginal culture. The Australian aboriginal community had expressed outrage at even more offensive costumes worn at a prior competition, but were assured that the costumes were inspired by all aboriginal cultures around the world, not just Australian. That was better. Offend everyone-here is the link http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/sports/olympics/22rings.html

They ditched the costumes for red loincloths, more fake leaves, and brown bodysuits -new improved costumes in next pic From NYTimes Ivan These are supposedly better!
I can hear Tim Gunn pleading "make it work!"
Followed by Heidi Klum "You're out"

3-Skin Toned Bodysuits. You know, the part of the costume made to look as if it is the real skin but really a body stocking-see fake skin on top- Come on designers-we need help here. So tacky. We can all see that is not bare skin. Worse are the coverings on the skates so the skates look like the leg-see next Really, do they believe we think the boot is an extension of the leg, that ice skaters do not have toes?
Michelle Kwan always looked elegant, her outfits looking couture, not like Project Runway failures.

4-The Bronze Medal
Seems to bring more joy than the silver. Bode Miller was thrilled to get his bronze in the downhill. Of course, he then added a silver and gold. But he was so puffed "to first podium" with the bronze(we'll talk about podiuming next). Let's finish this bronze medal thing.
While on the second (silver) level of the podium, Russian skater, Evgeni Plushenko, stared at his silver as if he were holding dog poop. He wanted the gold. Would he have felt better getting the bronze? In an article in USA Today, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 it seems that those receiving bronze are usually more joyful than those who have earned a silver. Happy bronzers next
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/2010-02-22-bronze-beats-silver_N.htm
"When you come in second," said Thomas Gilovich, chairman of Cornell's psychology department and one of the study's co-authors, "it's the most natural thing in the world to look upward. 'I got the silver and that's what it is, but what is it not? It's not the gold.'

"With the bronze, the natural place to look is downward. 'I got the bronze. That's what it is, but what it isn't is off the medal stand.' "

One of the US snowboarders loved his bronze medal so much that he wore it out celebrating and in photos showed up with the medal hanging below his waist being kissed and then bitten and well........

The bronze also is cool when another team is disqualified. USA fast track women won a bronze by being last, far behind, out of the race, until the South Korean team was disqualified. They were so "down from the podium" they were no longer looking at the board.

5-To podium

Using nouns as a verb is fun. I try to do it. But nothing has approached the new verb of these games- podium. The noun podium has become an active word. Lindsey Vonn has podiumed twice. Apolo Ohno has cumulatively podiumed 7 times in 3 Olympics. Will the US podium in hockey?

Podiuming is good, though podiuming for gold and bronze brings more joy than podiuming for silver.

Worse though is being "down from the podium." The unmedaled masses.

Liam 'Lympics

Liam had an idea for a doggie Olympic sport. Liam noticed that simple implements are used in some Olympic sports. He loves curling. In curling the participants use big granite stones-like this So Liam picked his favorite toy-red boney. He set out at the start line, looking for a team and some competitors.

His game has some cross country skiing see next pic a triple leg loop some snow curling, pushing the boney with his snout (brushless) and some running, encouraged by his coach -see shadow then getting to the finish first Sort of a cross country ski, triple leg loop, curling, and the Nordic combined slalom. However it is the Winter Olympics and weather is a factor. Snow begins falling

halting the competition Liam does not have the opportunity to podium in his outdoor sport. However, he does try some curling, an indoor sport unaffected by weather. His short program finds him not in perfect curl-see next pic But the long program provides another chance.

After the long program, Liam podiums. He is is an Olympic curler. Perfect execution, impeccable form, sharp edges, tight neat tuck

Woof, woof