Reflections, Reflections

OLYMPIC UPDATE - from Soxblog
by James Frederick Dwight

This is a very difficult essay with a high degree of difficulty. There are several tricky elements to it, and the judges will ruthlessly scrutinize my technique. The introduction has proven especially problematic. It’s been giving me problems since the Worlds back in 2003. But if I can somehow stick the dismount, I may still medal.

Every four years, like clockwork, phrases like “stick the dismount” and “split-time” invade the vernacular. That’s right, it’s time for the Olympics, that quadrennial celebration of esoteric, bizarre and sometimes just plain silly sports.

I have great respect for all Olympic athletes. Well, maybe not the synchronized swimmers. Or the rhythmic gymnasts. Or anyone on the U.S. Basketball team. But you probably get my point. The Olympians personify commitment and discipline and a lot of other good things that all of us would like to have. I’ll even apply that compliment to the synchronized swimmers and rhythmic gymnasts. (The bling-wearing, brick laying U.S. basketball team, however, is out of luck.)

But does anyone else find it odd that the world spends a fortnight watching seemingly pre-pubescent Romanians jump and tumble and otherwise demonstrate the skills that they cultivated at a modern day gymnastics gulag? The other night when I implored Mrs. Soxblog that it was late and time to head to bed, she responded, “I don’t want to miss the Romanian vaulters!!” I swear, that’s not a phrase I ever thought I’d hear uttered in our house. And the whole competition seems so arbitrary. These people train like lunatics for their entire lives and if they slip in the middle of a dance element during the floor exercise, the dream dies.

(A.---> Given also that athletes are now half giants, I like the women´s gymnastics, because it is the revenge of the tiny people in sports :-)))

The Oympics nowadays are getting so obnoxiusly high-techy, that pretty soon it will look like the Jetsons invaded the place. And I can´t get over those Freakazoid bicycle helmets... :-)

And has anyone not noticed that doping is now a rule, not an exception, amongst so many athletes? I think when it was less high tech, less full of dope, and less of this absolutely manic training 500,000 hours to do some little jump or tumbling, it was preetier.

Speaking of beauty, I really liked the Opening ceremony in the Olympics. Something of a dizzy onslaught of artsy symbols for everything, it almost seemed like a bunch of 15 second commercials strung together, but it was much more creative and visually stunning than the circus act I was expecting. I also really liked to see how they used the huge space of the stadium as a theater stage. The red minotaur and the white little boat, the blue flying man, the huge face, just some really interesting combinations of colors and objects moving through a vast theater. It was like going from watching those classic movies in your small tv to the full amplitude of a very wide cinema screen. Also the beautiful combinations of elements that translate more than the Olympics, continuity of human history, love, pregnancy, life. (Ok, so you had to be in the mood for it, but I was gently pulled into it).

Now, it was all spoiled by the stupid tv commentator, who obviously had the script of the show in his hands. As you started to wonder what was going to happen next, he would interject, "And now you will see a man appear on top of a cube," the exact second before the dingdong cube appeared, spoiling that high of surprise every single time!! (Grrr) :-)

I also kept thinking about the organizers, how they must have frantically prayed that nothing went wrong... I also hoped for no tragedies but I did keep thinking, what if the big face falls right now? and what if the water doesn´t get drained all they way? all the people wading through trying not to get their costumes wet and with an egg smile on their faces? :-)

(however, the design of that swinging torch thing was a bit too much... :-)

Alessandra