Looking Back on the Olympics

I have been a fan of the Olympics for forever.....are you? If you are, then you know the coverage for these Olympics was the best ever. 24-7 on at least one of the four channels---even the Spanish channel had it going for a couple of hours a day. You could see all kinds of sports, not just the usual and most popular. NBC did a great job!!! Bob Costas was terrific but what was Chris Collinsworth doing there? Oh, yeah....the tie-in to the coming NFL season. Duh! Setting that aside, what was your favorite moment and your observations? Mine definitely came through my female prism. Did you notice that women athletes did really well this year? Yes, Michael Phelps was unbelievable and lucky. He is the most decorated athlete ever but I was disappointed that both he and his mother immediately scurried off to make commercials and promotions. He didn't even stay for the closing ceremony. He was in London promoting the next Olympics, I think and his mom had a Johnson & Johnson commerical screening during coverage before the Games even ended. Truly living the American Dream.

But not as noticed were all the women who won gold or lesser medals in the Pole Vault (Silver), Discus Throw (gold), Rowing (gold), Gymnastics (Gold & Silver), Beach Volleyball (Gold), Swimming (Gold, Silver & Bronze), Volleyball (Gold), Softball (Gold), Soccer (Gold), Track (Gold, Silver & Bronze) etc... I am sure there are more but those are the ones I remember. The women were fabulous to watch and while I am not sure, I think they won more medals overall than the men. Thank you Title Nine!!

And there were other moments that just plain left me with my mouth wide in amazement---How about the man in the 120 lb. wrestling category from US who won the gold. He was the son of undocumented Mexican immigrants!!! Or the guy on the firing range whose gun (rifle!&) went off in his arms canceling his Olympic dream. Then there was the pole vault coach (male) caught on camera berating the women who had just won the Silver against a Russian who is the best in the world. The US woman had only been vaulting for four years and the coach was so unbelievably out-of-place yelling at her as if she had screwed up in some way and she had just won Silver. Then, there was the gymnast who proceeded to the vault before the light giving her permission to start turned green. Her dreams evaporated too.

I learned that Softball which has only been in the Olympics since 1996 will no longer be in the Games. Why? Because it is dominated by the USA---we have never lost the Gold and so no one wants to play us. Wow!

I really enjoyed watching it all. Although I admit, the gymnasts who do incredible but dangerous leaps and jumps into the air made me squirm in my seat...it is amazing there are not more serious injuries but maybe there are and we are not told. I know my daughter takes after me and loves the Olympics as well and I think there are several hundred million more. Good work NBC.

Summer Movie Reviews

I just saw "Pineapple Express", the latest by the new King of Comedy, Judd Atapow, and directed by David Gordon Green. (What were you thinking, David?) I am confused. The review in our local paper like others I have read, loved it. Laugh out loud funny is what everyone is saying and there are very few, if any, words written about the overwhelming senseless violence in this movie. First off, the leads in the movie, Seth Rogen and James Franco are stoned throughout, happily using drugs every minute and Rogen's character is dating a high school girl!!! WHAT?! Anyway, between using, buying and selling drugs these two useless men get caught up with gangs, turf warfare with the local chinese gang, and a corrupt cop committing murder. This is a mad-cap movie something like the old-time Laurel and Hardy romps but it takes the old "running into the wall" slapstick to a new more dangerous level using serious drugs, guns and killings. I was appalled.

Again, like my previous review of "Wanted", I saw this so you don't have to. It is stupid, senseless and delivers so many bad messages about drugs and violence and abuse of girls that I want to yell to everyone who had anything to do with this film, "Have you no shame?" "Was the money really worth it?" At the end of the local review, the writer says, "This one takes comedy to places--irresponsible, violent and funny--that it has never been before." As they say on SNL, REALLY!!! Can we have a reality check? "Irresponsible" and "violent" do not belong in the same sentence as funny! Is it really ok if the people who get killed are worse than the ones who survive?

The audience in the theater I was in were mostly young men and they were laughing a lot which made me sad and a little worried for the women in their lives. Again, the women depicted in the movie were loud, crass, fat, ugly and corrupt. On balance though, the men weren't much better and most of them were stoned. It was just plain ugly and a very bad sign for this kind of genre.