THE FEVER IS SPREADING

My weekend started off a little slow. On Saturday I watched a bunch of Olympic coverage and then went out to a comedy show with Monica and crew. It was pretty mediocre but I still managed to have fun. On Sunday I was incredibly saddened because Isaac Hayes died. I’ve loved that man’s music for quite a long time and I certainly love Chef. I haven’t been so broken up about the death of someone I didn’t know for a long time.

Watching more Olympics seemed like the only thing to do. I caught the China/USA basketball match. There was some sloppy ball on both sides but I really enjoyed watching the game. I wanted the US to win but wanted China to do really well. I love that Yao Ming, such a stand up fellow. I thoroughly enjoyed the women’s synchronized springboard competition. I love diving. Getting my first taste of both Men’s and Women’s gymnastics was also fantastic. The US women had a real rocky start and I saw many individual medal hopes dashed but I think they could end up strong in the team competition.

The highlight of the evening had to be the swimming and the highlight of the swimming was the men’s 4x100 relay. France had done a lot of trash talking, and they had reason. The US wasn’t going to go down easy though. And this is how the race went down. If you haven’t seen it don’t read this. Actually, feel free to read it, but check out the video first.

For the first leg Phelps was up for the US and Leveaux was up for the French. Phelps put in a respectable time of 47.51 to Leveaux’s 47.91. Both were eclipsed by Eamon of Australia who had the fastest first leg in a 4x100 relay ever at 47.24. Up for the second leg was Weber-Gale (47.02) for the US and Fabien (47.05) for France. This brought the US into the lead. I’ve been seeing people talk about how Cullen Jones almost blew it for the US. Sure, he had the slowest leg of the team at 47.65 but was up against France’s fastest leg by Bousquet at 46.63.

And let me just say something here about Cullen Jones. This is a man who teaches swimming to Black children because he knows exactly how dangerous not knowing how to swim can be because he almost drowned as a child. Black children are almost 3 times more likely to drown than white children. He also had to swim in the relay heats the night before and earned his spot on the team with the three fastest swimmers because he had the best split from those in the heats. If Jones had led off the race and Phelps was swimming third people would be saying Phelps almost blew the race since his time was almost a full second slower than Bousquet's. Lay off him people.

Anyway, what it really came down to was the final leg, Lezak vs. Bernard. The US was .69 seconds behind the French. When you are 32, the oldest male member of the US swim team, and chasing down the world record holder things might look a little grim. Not so for Lezak, he put in the swim of his life. Got the fastest split time in history, and took the gold. It was quite a night.

OLYMPIC FEVER

I have caught major Olympic fever. I’ve been watching the trials like crazy and just can’t wait to see more. I have four main sports for the summer games; gymnastics, swimming, diving, and track and field. It is interesting because even though Figure Skating is my ultimate sport of choice I thin I look forward to the Summer Olympics a little bit more. I suppose it is because I follow Figure Skating year round every year and I get just as excited about a world championship every year as I do about an Olympics every four years. The summer Olympics are new, exciting, things I only watch when Olympic fever hits.

Even though I love the sports mentioned above I know very little about those who compete in them. Sure I know the gymnast twins Paul and Morgan Haam, they competed a few times in Ninja Warrior, and Michael Phelps, the God of Swimming but that is really it. Watching the trials I get to pick out favorites for no reason other than I like their name, the cut of their jib, or something particularly cool that they do. I have already seen one favorite, Raj Bhavsar, not get selected for the Olympic Gymnastics team even though he was the closest one to automatically qualify. He came very close four years ago so I was really pulling for him to get to go this time but it just didn’t happen. Some others have caught my attention.

I’ve saw a perfect dive off the platform from 30 year old Laura Wilkinson. Is there anything more awesome then someone ripping through the water without a splash? It doesn’t even seem possible. I saw world records broken by both Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff in the 400 meter medley. I saw a 400m hurdler fall and knock into Sheena Tosta who somehow still managed to come in third and secure a spot on the Olympic team and in the Men’s 400m hurdles, Bershaun Jackson beat men with legs as long as he is tall (not really) to win the race. I fumed as NBCs HD feed kept shorting out over and over causing me to miss some races.

However, the thing that is possibly the most exciting about the Olympics is to see all the people from the rest of the world who are amazing at what they do and I have no idea who they are. With the games in China, their team should be on fire. I’ll look for strong contenders in diving, swimming, and gymnastics. I don’t know so much about their track skills? It is still great to see everyone come out and perform at the top of their game.

Come 8.8.08 we will bear witness to thrills of victory and agonies of defeat. We will cheer as people we never heard of before awe our senses and win our hearts. If you ask me, it can’t come soon enough.

1. Well its hard enough to get there/ On your own/ And it’s always time to pay the rent/ When you’re home

2. Are you afraid to go outside/ Are you afraid of what you might find/ baby girl, I understand it/ I seen it too and I don’t recommend it

3.Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ and I want it to be

4. Around the world/ Around the world/ Around the world/ Around the world

5. And she was lying in the grass/ And she could hear the highway breathing/ And she could see a nearby factory/ She's making sure she isn't dreaming

THE IMPLICATIONS ARE STAGGERING

An old professor of mine sent me an email talking about some legislation that just passed the appropriations committee and is headed to the full House in Arizona called measure SB1108. It would ban public schools from teaching materials that "overtly encourage dissent" in regard to core American values. Another piece would bar teachings, or organizations affiliated with public schools, community colleges, or public universities that are "based in whole or in part on race-based criteria," I find this incredibly terrifying.

From what I have read in the emails that have been going back and forth as well as this article, the target appears to be a La Raza studies program that focuses on cultural history and instilment of pride in that history. Some of the texts used in the program have rubbed people the wrong way.

It is one thing to complain about a text or two used in a program and maybe even talk to the school to get those texts removed or to choose laternate texts. I’m not saying I think this is necessary in this case because I don’t have all the information, I haven’t read the texts, I don’t know about the student organization mentioned, and so I honestly can’t comment on their ethos. However, I certainly can comment on the implications that type of legislation could have statewide.

Imagine a world where the only culture allowed to be taught is the dominant culture. How fundamentally un-American is that? While the article states that teaching about cultures would be acceptable, “race-based” classes would not. I can just see Asian Studies, Diaspora Studies, Chicano Studies, etc. disappearing from Arizona’s public universities and it makes me want to cry.

The language is so vague. I think if you asked ten people what it means to "overtly encourage dissent" from the values of American democracy and Western civilization you would get ten different answers. Debates could come to a raging halt. Any sentiment of radical change or even not so radical change could be squashed out of the brains of many children and young adults. People could essentially be taught that everything single thing about America is right and good and I am certain that type of thinking will only do our country harm.

Since Mom guessed all the songs yesterday here are five new ones

1. Horses in my dreams/ Like waves like the sea/ They pull out of here/ They pull they are free

2. Oh here we go again/ It’s time for the same arguments about/ About that and a little bit of this

3. Moon Sammy walks/ Across the floor/ Below the floor/ There is a wall. Moon Sammy, Soul Coughing. Identified by Mom.

4. When apple leaves fall/ You may feel something in your mind’s eye/ When the earth drinks in squall/ You may plan to escape on the sly. Apple, Cibo Matto. Identified by Jamie

5. It’s coming on Christmas/ They’re cutting down trees/ They’re putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace. River, Joni Mitchell. Identified by Chatty Knitter.

WEEPY WEEKEND

Apparently my post on Friday was my 300th post. Neat. I totally had no idea.

I had every intention of going to Jamie’s to watch the Super Bowl. Then I slept really late and felt pretty lazy when I woke up. Then I looked and saw it was going to snow at some point during the game. I decided to stay home. I really had no interest in the game either so it made the decision a little easier. Regardless, I am kind of a bad friend. Sorry. Instead of Super Bowl, Tony and I watched The Karate Kid. I had actually never seen the entire movie and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I also made some of the most delicious sandwiches ever but you’ll have to wait until Friday to hear all about them.

Speaking of movies I watches this weekend, I really have to recommend The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters to everyone. It is a documentary that chronicles the epic battle between Billy Mitchell and Steve Weibe. Who are they you ask? They are the best Donkey Kong players around, duh. Although I had heard wonderful things about the movie I was a little skeptical about the entertainment value of a documentary about guys playing old school video games. Why? I have no idea. It was brilliant. There were shady dealings, bitter rivalries, and aloof masters of the joystick throughout. Even if you don’t care a thing about Donkey Kong or, like me, have never made it past the first board (or maybe second but apparently most people never make it past the third) you will enjoy this movie. Get it get it get it.

We also watched Pride. I can’t get enough of movies about sports that are “based on a true story” when there is racism involved it is even better. Pride is the one about the Black swim team from Philly. There were only two references to the whole “Black people can’t swim thing,” which I thought was interesting in some way. I never thought I would be typing this statement but here it goes, Bernie Mac was brilliant! He was just hilarious and delightful and made the movie. Terrence Howard wasn’t too bad himself but that is more expected. I mean did you see Hustle and Flow? He was so awesomely dirty. Like any movie about underdogs and racism it got me teary and Tony laughed at me. Whatever, The King of Kong made me a little teary as well. So did The Karate Kid. I just cry. I ain’t ashamed. Whatever.

1. I love you/ Completely/ Please I don't want you to go/ Though you are not content here with me and you feel you must go

2. Coming out the slums/ It's the hoodlums/ I'm pulling my gat out on all you bums

3. You've got a bad reputation/ That's the word out on the town/ It gives a certain fascination/ But it can only bring you down

4. I’d like to be/ Under the sea/ In an octopus’s garden/ In the shade. Octopus's Garden. The Beatles. Identified by Jenn.

5. Wow/ You sure got to climb a lot of steps to get to this capital building here in Washington/ Hey/ Who’s that sad little scrap of paper?/ You really want to know? I'm Just A Bill, Schoolhouse Rock. Identified by Janeylynne.

SORRY, I AM ALMOST DONE WITH SKATING

I am sure that many of my readers understand that I love Figure Skating more than most people. I accept this fact as well. However, this weekend I think I sunk to extreme Figure Skating dorkdom. Ages ago Mom had taken our beloved Beta tapes from the 1988 Olympics and put them on DVDs for me (although I am still waiting for dance, pairs short, and ladies). Sadly, they would not play on my DVD player or on my ps2. However, I hadn’t tried them on the wonder that is the ps3. Lo and behold they worked! Glory be to me.

It was time to pop some popcorn and settle in for some “Battle of the Brians”. Truly, there was never a greater moment in Olympic history. I also got to watch plenty of Chris Bowman (whose cause of death is still unclear and apparently won’t be knows for many weeks) and was struck by how well he would have fared under the current judging system. His spins were more innovative than virtually anyone else on the scene and he had some decent footwork as well. It is truly amazing how far spinning has come over the past 20 years. Jumping has made some strides as well but not to the extent of spinning. I mean how many rotations can a human being possibly do in the air? I bet someone makes a quintuple jump one of these days but, after that, fuggedaboudid.

Anyway, I remember that the Battle of the Brians was excruciatingly close and was essentially won by Boitano’s higher technical merit marks. I was curious to see if the results would have been as close under the new judging system. Why? Cause I’m an enormous dork. I had to base my results primarily on jumps (because I can easily comprehend their assigned point values) and then factored in spins, footwork, and connecting moves to the best of my ability. The way I calculated the technical marks Boitano came out about five points ahead of Orser. Had I subtracted the points for one of Orsers double axels (it wouldn’t have counted today because it wasn’t in combination) it would have been greater but since they didn’t know about that rule I thought it would be unfair. I also didn’t factor in the 10% bonus for jumps at the end of the program because, again, they didn’t know to backload their programs. The biggest difference was that Boitano did two triple axels (although one got a negative grade of execution for a slight two foot). Orser got a negative grade of execution for a two foot and a “wrunch around” on a triple flip, while Boitano’s triple flip got a positive grade of execution. He also may have gotten a negative grade of execution on his last triple toe. It seems to have been two footed but I am not positive. Both of their spins would have been scoffed at today but it seemed to me that Boitano held his positions a little longer and that they were more precise. That camel Orser did, what was that? A comparison of their Death Drops left Orser in the dust.

However, the presentation mark is something I was unsure about. For the past 20 years I have been trying to understand why Orser so greatly outscored Boitano’s presentation marks. Not that I found anything wrong with Orser’s presentation, it was a fine program, but Boitano’s was a mixture of a cohesive story, emotion, superior positioning on basic skating elements, and general awesomeness. His connecting movements were stellar (the spread eagle heard around the world and those Russian splits that hurt to watch) and the choreography was impeccable. Maybe there is something I simply don’t see? There has been a lot of talk that Orsers scores were inflated because it was "his turn" but there has been a lot of talk the other way as well.

I'm not trying to diminish Orser, he was a great skater and put together an awesome program. Either way, my opinion is that, if the current judging system was around in 88, Boitano would have won by much more. Then again, I didn’t judge the short program (which Orser won) so maybe the seven or eight point difference in the long wouldn’t have meant as much? I doubt it though. Anyway, Here they are if you want to be the judge.
Boitano (the program starts at one minute)

Orser


1. Every second/ of every minute of the day/ I let my fancy play. Spike The Senses, Of Montreal.

2. OOOHH Baby/ Cry Baby/ Cry Baby/ Welcome back home. Cry Baby, Janis Joplin

3. There are people going hungry/ Far away/ They got nothing on their plates. A Cantury of Fakers, belle and Sebastian.

4. Deep in the bosom of the gentle night/ Is when I search for the light/ Pick up my pen and start to write. Insomnia, Faithless.

5. Glue/ Stuck to my shoe/ Does anyone know why/ We play with an orange rind. Putting The Damage On, Tori Amos.

RIP SHOWMAN

This morning I checked my email and saw a link that a champion figure skater had died. I clicked on the link and my jaw dropped when I saw the name Christopher Bowman. I guess i had expected one of the current skaters was in a car crash or something (which would have been equally tragic)Bowman was one of my all-time favorite skaters and I had a huge crush on him (which is a little embarrassing but I was 12 and loved figure skating, who else). In 1991 when the US Nationals were in Minneapolis I took a black baseball cap and put silver puffy paint on it that said “Congratulations Chris”. When I gave it to him I received the sweatiest hug known to man.

He was 40 years old and died in his sleep at a Motel in California. It is posited that it was a drug overdose. He had many problems over the years in that area. Seen as one of the “bad boys” of skating he could easily serve as the prototype for Will Farell’s character in Blades of Glory. As I was reading some comments on the story I was shocked at how many negative things there were about him. People commenting that he couldn’t’ have been that good because they had never heard of him. Maybe they were just too young or maybe they were just assholes.

For those who followed the sport in the late 80s and early 90s, Bowman couldn’t be missed. He had a flair that few skaters have and it earned him the nickname, “Bowman the Showman”. In the article I read Boitano named Chris as one of the top three male figure skaters of all time. Maybe of US male figure skaters…. Regardless, he brought a sense of levity to the sport that is in many ways lacking in this day and age. He’ll be missed.

Bowman’s Short Program from the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. It exemplifies who he was as a skater and you can easily see where he got his nickname.


Bowman’s Long Program from the 1991 Nationals. It’s a more subtle performance, although still great.


1. Every second/ of every minute of the day/ I let my fancy play

2. OOOHH Baby/ Cry Baby/ Cry Baby/ Welcome back home

3. There are people going hungry/ Far away/ They got nothing on their plates

4. Deep in the bosom of the gentle night/ Is when I search for the light/ Pick up my pen and start to write.

5. Glue/ Stuck to my shoe/ Does anyone know why/ We play with an orange rind.

ADVERTISEMENTS LIE

So I watched about 50% of the Vikings Bears game last night and although I haven’t seen sloppier football played for a while the end result was just fine with me. I always think it is mean when teams who have little or no chance at the playoffs beat teams who have something of a chance. I know they get paid to win no matter what but sometimes I think it is more sportsmanlike to make sure some fellow players get their dream. Actually throwing games may be the epitome of being unsportsmanlike so never mind.

While I was not watching the game I was watching the Extras finale. What a depressing show. It made me want to cry repeatedly while slapping the people who were making me cry. I guess that is something of an accomplishment.

Note to self: stop being taken in by commercials about pizza.

A while ago there was that Dominoes commercial about the garlicky crust pizza with the guys who had extra big sensory organs. They made the pizza look so incredibly delicious. I don’t do Dominoes pizza, it was been pounded into my head that they have some political leanings I don’t believe in (although who knows if that has changed since the mid 80s) and the pizza is relatively disgusting on top of it. Pizza Hut, on the other hand, is a guilty pleasure of mine. Man that stuffed crust is awesome. I do realize that I live in Chicago and if I want a delicious pizza there are far better options but sometimes I just want some of the Hut. Anyway, Pizza Hut had this new double deep pizza that looked pretty delicious in the commercials. I wanted to eat it. While it wasn’t disgusting, it certainly wasn’t as delicious as my typical Pizza Hut pizza. I swear that pizza commercials will not take me in anymore. I am always disappointed when I open the box. Actually, this happens with many food items I see on TV and think look delicious. They never look the same on my plate as on the TV. I take that back, there is one product, the ice cream I have seen on TV is just as delicious if not more so when I try it. I love ice cream.

Note to self: When you get up early to go to a breakfast at work, don’t eat breakfast before you go.

I don’t know what I was thinking. I mean I got up an hour early specifically to go to breakfast. However, as part of my typical morning routine I ate breakfast. What a dumbass. There was fruit at the breakfast though and I hadn’t eaten any fruit already so I had some but not as much as I would have if I hadn’t already eaten. Stupid stupid stupid.

1. Across the lines/ who would dare to go/ Under the bridge/ Over the tracks/ That separate Whites from Blacks. Across The Lines, Tracy Chapman. Identified by Mom.

2. Today was the day/ For dancing and for singing/ The birds in the trees/ And all the bells are ringing

3. Goodbye Cruel World/ I’m leaving you today/ Goodbye Goodbye Goodbye. Goodbye Cruel World, Pink Floyd. Identified by Auld Hat

4. My head’s been lying dormant like a sleepy little mouse/ What I have inside me it’s enough to fill a house

5. Repair the hull/ Replace the sail/ The monkey wrestles with the ghost

YOU VS. THE WORLD

I am sure that most of you may know the wonders of google stalking people. Some of you may do it more than others. If you say you have never looked up anyone you once knew on a search engine you are probably lying. I am a moderate google stalker. I occasionally think of someone I have lost track of and wonder if they are doing anything interesting. Are these people doing anything of note? Most of the time they are not. That’s ok because I am not doing anything of note either.

Today, however, I found an awesome exception to the rule. Sr. year of high school, I had English with a crazy cat named Tollef. He was a lot of fun to make jokes about Hamlet with and to carry on generally insane conversations. I was planning to ask him to prom because he was a fun person to be around and we would have had a crazy time. My best friend Emily ended up asking him instead. Emily got her second prom and I got my second no prom. It caused some problems between us because I told her about my idea and then a few days later she said she had the same idea and I conceded because I thought the friendship was more important. Today I really don’t care. Tollef later said if he had known he would have stayed his butt at home. I thought that was a good answer.

Anyway, in the almost ten years since high school, Tollef has moved to Alaska. Not only is he a salmon fisherman, which is pretty freaking awesome, but he is also an Iditarod racer. To top that off he finished in 10th place in the 2007 race and won an award for the most improved musher from 44th place in 2006. How freaking awesome is that?

What is even funnier is that this makes the second person I know who has gone to Alaska to mush dogs. Tony and I have an impossible to reach friend Will who tends to pop up suddenly for great times and then never returns a call or email for months also took some time away in Alaska. I think he was training and maintaining a pack of mushing dogs rather than racing them but it is still a coincidence. I wonder if they know each other. I would ask Will but I can’t get in touch with him.

The point is that it got me thinking of what kind of crazy man vs. nature thing I would chose to do if I were going to do some crazy man vs. nature type of thing, which I am not. That is certainly not my cup of tea. However, if it were, what would I do.? Alaska is certainly out of the question, far too cold. Therefore, any pole exploration also follows plus since that 79yr old woman became the first African- American to reach the North Pole all the glory is gone. Kidding of course but, damn, what a woman. Climbing mountains is certainly out, it’s also cold and the air is thin so my asthma would be a big detractor. I think I will go with exploring the upper canopy of the redwood forests. I saw this guy on The Colbert Report talking about it the other day and it seemed pretty cool. Not too cold, friendly squirrels and other wildlife that doesn’t know they should be afraid of humans, and lots and lots of ropes.

What would you do?

1. Love/ Used to be a stranger to me/ Love/ was so disappointing/ I was waiting for a sign/ I was looking for some company/ So I took a walk outside/ MMMM what a lucky day

2. Through the warmest cord of care/ Your love was sent to me/ I’m not sure/ What to do with it/ or where to put it

3. I’ve been living to see you/ Dying to see you but it shouldn’t be like this/ This was unexpected/ What do I do now/ Could we start again please. Could We Start Again, Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack. Identified by Brooke.

4. Tears on the sleeve of a man/ Don’t wanna be a boy today/ Heard the eternal footman/ Bought himself a bike to race. Pretty Good Year, Tori Amos. Identified by Brooke.

5. I am the voice inside your head/ And I control you/ I am the lover in your bed/ And I control you/ I am the sex that you provide/ And I control you/ I am the hate you try to hide/ And I control you. Mr. Self Destruct, Nine Inch Nails. Identified by Brooke.

MAO SPRINGS ETERNAL

Manic Monday for today is Spring. After a wonderful weekend of watching coverage of the 2007 Figure Skating World Championships the only thing I can think of when it comes to spring are the jumps of Mao Asada. Be damned 78degree weather. Your spring is nothing like that of this young lady from Japan!

When I was skating I had some height to my jumps but nothing even thinking about coming close to the spring in this girls step. The way she vaults of her toe pick for flips, toe-loops, and lutzes is outstanding. She also gets amazing spring from her knee-bend on edge jumps suck as the loop and the axel (although I am pretty sure she didn’t do a salchow). Sure, she wasn’t perfect but at 16 who is? It was too bad she missed her combination in the short program because it cost her the title. Then again, she is 16 so she’ll have plenty of chances to be on top.

Speaking of the Worlds, remember how I said that US Figure Skating was on its way out? Well at the 2007 Championships the US took home only one medal, the bronze in Ice Dance. Since when did Ice Dance become the strongest event for US Skating? Super strange. I was also right that Japan is becoming a serious force to be reckoned with in singles skating. Pairs and Dance, not so much. Props to the brother from Germany who took home a bronze medal in Pairs. I always love to see black folks skating. It’s rare and exciting.

I leave you with the wonderful Spring of Mao. Enjoy.

Oh, and the unguessed songs from last week are

1. It’s raining/ It’s raining/ There’s nothing you can do/ It doesn’t only rain on you/ But you’re acting all upset/ like you’re the only one that’s wet. It's Raining, by Quasi

2. On the corner/ We talk away/ Everybody's older these days/ I'll just hit the reset button on this game. Glass Conversation, by The Pony's

IT ISN'T ALWAYS PRETTY

I was watching skating this weekend (no surprise there) and was reminded, once again, of how much this sport can hurt. I took a few nasty falls in my day. Once I kicked myself in the shin and had a decent little puncture wound. Gladly, I never had anything hospital worthy. This incident, however, required some immediate facial trauma surgery. The Canadian champions Dube & Davison were going into their side-by-side combination spins when something awful happened. Paris spins are judged on their synchronicity and the closeness of the skaters. This pair got a little too close. Searching for footage, I found this wonderful clip that not only included their spin, but fantastic falls throughout the past few years.


Just so you know, the skater is "fine". She was all stitched up and doing interviews just a few days after the fall and the team plans to compete in the World Championships next month.

WE WIN IN LIFE CAUSE INDIANA IS A SHITHOLE

Before he finds out and accuses me of stealing his thunder yet again, Tony made the above statement not me. I just found it be funny cause it is true. As everyone probably knows, The Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. If you happened to only watch the first quarter of the game this fact may surprise you. The bears came out looking good, until Grossman got on the field that is. Apparently a quarterback can be carried to the Superbowl by his team. But to win the game you need a quarterback who can carry a team, a la Manning. I really doubt anyone was truly surprised by the game yesterday. I know a big part of why I elected to watch at home vs. out with people was that I couldn’t handle the mass drunken depression that was likely to follow the game. Plus, at home I call yell things like “Run you bitch ass pansy losers,” without people thinking I am not supporting team, which I am. I’m just saying that they need a new quarterback and have needed one for some time. If they get a good one, or even a fair one, the team should be unstoppable.

From one depressing note to another, the cold that is happening today is simply ungodly. No one should be outside in weather like this, ever. I was hoping for Chicago Public Schools to be closed this morning because when they are closed so is my office. No such luck. I guess it has to be much colder. Now I realize that –6 isn’t that worst thing ever and many people are experiencing much worse but it’s freaking cold. My bedroom is the only room in my apartment without a radiator. Does that make any sense? The space heater that has worked so wonderfully in the past is now overworked and exhausted and the warm air that comes out is heavily mixed with cool air. Not so happy. I am thinking of sleeping in the bathtub tonight, that room gets really toasty. Typically, I don’t mind my 8-10 minute walk to the train but this morning I was not very happy about it. I had on two scarves, one under my coat and one over my coat. When I arrived at the train station I looked down to see that my outer scarf had a nice layer of frosty crystals on it. Yes people, my breath had frozen on my scarf. That should never happen.

Once I got on the train I thought things would be ok. They weren’t. The train kept stopping because the power would cut out. If you hadn’t guessed, no power means no heat. Sometimes, when the train was waiting for the power to get going the doors would remain open. Other things were affected by the cold as well. My bag and the cords on my headphones were unnaturally stiff and my pen didn’t work until I held it in my hands for some time. Oh the wonders of cold. Luckily, the train was exceptionally crowded and the body heat helped a little. However, I also happened to be sitting by the rudest people ever and they kept bumping me like mad. I’m not crazy, I expect a bump here and there on the train, but these people were all about invading my personal space and I am not cool with that.

The office is also exceptionally cold today. Many people still have outerwear on. I have the smaller of my scarves on still but it matches my outfit so that’s ok. I also have a particularly toasty office. Generally, this is a bad thing because it makes me want to get naked and I can’t. Today it is pleasant and I am content. Lots of people have been stopping by and getting very jealous. My computer (and those of a few others) is running incredibly sluggish. I am hoping that this post actually makes it online today. I am a little afraid that it won’t. If you are reading this it did. If you are reading this and it is Tuesday, things didn’t work out quite as I had planned (or maybe they did and you just didn't happen to read it on Monday).

Maybe some tunes will keep my mind of the frozen feeling in my toes.

1. She’s outta my life/ She’s outta my life/ And I don’t know whether to laugh or cry/ I don’t know whether to live or die.

2. I need time to scrounge the rent/ Need time to contemplate the accident/ I got to drag my ass to now/ How did I come to stop here? Maybe I'll Come Down, Soul Coughing. Identified by Brooke.

3. Could be/ Who Knows/ There’s something do any day/ I will know right away/ Soon as it shows. Something's Coming, West Side Story. Identified by JaneyLynne and Mom.

4. Particle Man/ Particle Man/ Doing the things a particle can. Particle Man, They Might Be Giants. Identified by Eve and CSMC and Mom.

5. Please allow me to introduce myself/ I’m a man of wealth and taste. Sympathy For The Devil, Rolling Stones. Identified by JaneyLynneand Mom.

THE RESULTS ARE IN

A wonderful weekend of skating was had by me. Not because there were tons of wonderful performances, because there were only a handful. But because the performances that were great were FANTASTIC. One thing I will say about coverage for US Nationals is that it is far more extensive than the typical World and Olympic coverage. I don’t completely understand why, but that is the case. Maybe because only one event was on broadcast TV, they were able to show more skaters and skip a lot of the profiles and boring stuff that usually comes with skating. Maybe it’s just me, but I would much prefer seeing an additional skater than hearing about one of the top athletes backgrounds. To me, that stuff doesn’t really matter. Sure hearing a little comment about an injury or something else in their life is great but that can be covered in warm-up or even during their program. I don’t care how they do in school or that their mother tripped over a barrier at nationals thirty years ago. I just want to see them skate. I also want to see more than just the top contenders because the up and coming skaters are often overlooked. I know a lot of people don’t care and only want to see big names but, for my money, show me everyone! The fact that I watched everything on the DVR also helped because I could fast forward all that mess. Now for a few highlights.

Pairs:
New champs Brooke Castile and Benjamin Okolski moved up from an 11th place finish last year to take the gold from reigning US champs Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr.. As much as I like Rena and John, I am kind of done with them. John is too inconsistent to make them really exciting to watch. Brooke and Benjamin, on the other hand were fantastic and exciting throughout their entire performance. They performed a triple twist (as did third place team Naomi Nari Nam and Themistocles Leftheris) something that I have never seen an American Pair attempt. However, all the top pairs have been doing them fir years internationally. Their music was wonderful; the score from Requiem for a Dream (such a good movie) and their skating had power and speed to rival the Chinese. How the judges gave Rena and John such good marks I have no idea. If they had won I think there could have been a revolt. If Naomi and Themistocles had skated a clean program I think Rena and John would have been knocked out of second place and therefore out of the world team.

Dance:
I don’t have too much to say about the dance competition. The new program that Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto put together to the score from Amelie (such a god movie) was far superior to the mess they had earlier in the season. It still needs some work to be truly competitive internationally but they are on the right track. I really enjoyed Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov (2nd place) and Meryl Davis and Charlie White (3rd place) as well. The Dance event at Worlds in March should be quite a deep field.

Mens:
My DVR cut off the last performance and a half so I missed Ryan Bradley’s surprise ascension to second place and am somewhat disappointed about that. I am somewhat glad I only saw half of Johnny Weir’s performance because I like him and he didn’t do so well, leaving him in third. Evan Lysacek, on the other hand, was a performance of a lifetime. I haven’t seen a quad landed that cleanly in some time. He made it look effortless. I am still tired of his Carmen program but it was so good that I almost didn’t mind. Derrick Delmore (one of the few Black skaters ever) put in a great performance at what will be his last Nationals (he has been there for the past 10 years or so) and I was really happy to see him go out on a high note. His 6th place finish I think is the second highest he ever has achieved at Nationals. One thing that surprised me is that Stephen Carriere (9th place) was chosen to head the US Jr. World team. I didn’t know that a Sr. level skater could compete at the Jr. Worlds. You learn something new everyday.

Ladies:
Although reigning world champion Kimmie Meissner won her first national title, it wasn’t an easy win. She really struggled with the landings on many of her jumps, although I don’t remember her actually falling. Had Emily Hughes not fallen, she would have easily defeated Meissner for the title. The real excitement of the night came from third place winner Alissa Czisny. She actually won the long program to bring her up to third from a fifth place finish in the short program. I haven’t seen spins like that since…ever and her jumps were delightful as well. They sowed the two top finishers in Jr. ladies (Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang) during the pairs and dance finals and they will be a force to reckon with. I think either one of them would have placed very well in the Sr. finals and they are only 13!

If anyone is the huge skating dork that I am (and I am sure there are very few of you out there) I have included the detailed results. This is not for the faint of heart. Even I didn’t look at all these pages. These results show the full judges report for each skater’s long and short programs. It shows what element the technical specialist identified, the base value of the element, the + or – they received in grade of execution and the scores of each judge. It also shows what level of difficulty their spins, footwork, and spiral sequences were graded at 1-4. Finally, it shows the various components that make up their program component score (the old artistic score) skating skills (stroking & posture), transitions (the skating between elements), performance/execution (how well they skated their program), choreography, and interpretation. I found this very exciting, as these results are not often easy to find, but I am sure no one else will.

Time to identify the unguessed songs from last week.

1. If you had a choice of colors/ Which one would you choose my brothers. Choice of Colors, Curtis Mayfield

2. Remember when you were young/ You shone like the sun. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pink Floyd.

3. You know I’ve been searching for someone/ Who can share that special love with me/ Your eyes have that glow. Computer Love, Zapp and Roger

4. Tim wish you were born a girl/ Wish you were born a girl/ So I could have been your boyfriend. Tim Wish You Were Born A Girl, Of Montreal.

SKATING IS STILL SUBJECTIVE

Last night the first portion of the US National Figure Skating championships aired. I haven’t got a chance to watch most of it because I was busy playing Katamari with Monica and Tony, oh and watching the OC. HAHAHA. How embarrassing. However, I did catch the short programs of the two top male contenders, Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek. I have to say they are quite an interesting match up. Personally, if they both skated at the top of their game, I would take Weir any day. I know many people wouldn’t agree with me but I have good reason.

When Weir is on he is on and he skates beautifully. His jumps have an awesome rideout (the speed and edge coming out of a jump) and his artistry is more to my taste (most of the time). I think his spin positions are more innovative, although he as has been doing the same ones for years now and I guess they have lost a bit of their WOW factor. Nonetheless, I think he is awesome. Lysacek is also fantastic. He has a passion and intensity on the ice that is contagious. He truly commits to what he is doing and had a lot of power. However, he has skated the same long program for two seasons to the most played out of all music in skating, Carmen. I am so sick of this program that I have a hard time watching it despite his wonderful skating. You know how they retire people’s numbers in some sports; they should retire music in skating. Then again I suppose everyone can interpret music differently and it is hard to reinterpret a number but still, some things have got to go.

Although Weir is the reigning US champ three years running, I would assume Lysacek is the favorite because he has had much more success on the international circuit. Weir has been inconsistent and unreliable and I know how skating works, the judges want the most internationally competitive skater to be the champ. Even with the new judging system, there is room for favoritism, less than before, but skating still remains a subjective sport. After watching their two programs, I felt that Weir should have been ahead because of extra points given to the grade of execution in his jumps. His positioning and landings were far superior in my opinion. I was also more of a fan of his choreography. However, after the judging was said and done Lysacek was ahead both technically and artistically. It baffled me. Although he was only ahead by less than one point, which is nothing, I thought it showed severe preference by the judges. I did just read that Weir was graded higher than Lysacek on his jumps which meant the judges either really hated his artistry (huh?) or really don’t want him to win (likely). We’ll just have to see what happens in the long program but, if they both skate clean, I am guessing that Lysacek will win the title.

I didn’t get a chance to watch the top ladies but reigning World Champion Kimmie Meissner is essentially a shoe in for the title. I do want to make one small comment about the event though. I only watched one skater but was delighted when there was some argument about a statement Dick Button made regarding Ulrich Salchow who he claimed was an excellent champion in the last century. Button had seemed to forget that we are seven years into a century currently so Salchow who skated in the late 18 and early 1900s did not fit in that definition. As someone tried to correct him he got all stickler about his facts and was just wrong. I like to see Dick Button wrong. If you have ever watched a skating event in the past 25+ years you know that Dick Button is like the Simon Cowell of figure skating, or maybe that should be that other way around. He is the original mean commentator. It is really nice to see him look a little stupid for a change.

Here are some new musical options for skaters. You know, you can choose music with words now.

1. Not a lotta bling/ When you do the thing/ Bada boom bada bing. Bada Bing, Dangerdoom. identified by The Doc

2. If you had a choice of colors/ Which one would you choose my brothers

3. Remember when you were young/ You shone like the sun

4. You know I’ve been searching for someone/ Who can share that special love with me/ Your eyes have that glow

5. Tim wish you were born a girl/ Wish you were born a girl/ So I could have been your boyfriend

SUPERBOWL BOUND

I feel like I have a lot to say today and I am not entirely sure why. Maybe I don’t have all that much to say. We’ll see.

Thing number one, the Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl. Hooray!!! This is utterly awesome. I really enjoyed watching the game. I was pretty scared in the beginning when it seemed they couldn’t score a touchdown to save their lives but they put it together eventually. For Lovie Smith to become the first Black coach to go to the super Bowl was really nice to see, he is a great guy. Then for him to be closely followed by Tony Dungy was just wonderful. No matter what happens a Black coach will win the Super Bowl. This may not seem like a huge deal but it kind of is. Speaking of the Colts, they are going to be one hard team to beat. I am sure that it is technically possible but if both teams play in the Super Bowl like they played last night the Bears uh, well, how do I say this and still sound like a fan??? Maybe just leaving it at that will be fine. One thing that really confused me about the Bears game was the weather. See, it was snowing lightly throughout most of the game and was coming down pretty well by the fourth quarter. However, at my house it was not snowing at all. I realize I live about 11 miles away but it was still strange. I spoke about this to my sister and we talked about how it would be fun to find the place where the snow stopped. It would be like that spot where you can stand in four states at once but it would be the spot where one side of you got snowed on and the other didn’t. Apparently, that spot was within 11 miles of my house. Anyway, GO BEARS.

The next thing I want to talk about is the fantastic dinner I made yesterday. Man was it delicious. I made potato gnocchi in a tofu cream sauce. Now I am sure many of you are currently making disgusted faces but you shouldn’t. This sauce, although made entirely of tofu and veggies, did not taste anything but delicious and creamy. If you are a person who likes delicious creamy sauces but is health conscious (and not allergic to soy) this is the sauce for you. Gnocchi is also pretty decent foodstuffs for the health conscious and is incredibly delicious and filling. I was so proud cause I basically made this recipe up and it worked. I would like to take this time to share. A side note is that there was a lot more sauce than gnocchi so if you don’t want leftovers you should make less about half the sauce would go perfectly with one package of gnocchi (about 3 cups cooked).

1. Get a big old pot of water on the stove.

2. Sautee two leeks (I only use the onion-like part not the leafy greens on top), one red pepper, ¼ cup fresh basil and two cloves of garlic together over medium low heat in some olive oil (I think I used about 1.5 tbsp) until nice and soft. The longer you cook the more flavor you get out and I don’t think it is possible to cook these things for too long.

3. Put the juice of one lemon into a blender

4. Put half a cube of tofu in the blender and blend

5. Once it is nice and creamy add the rest of the tofu (if your blender is better than mine you can probably add all the tofu at once)

6. Add the sautéed vegetables and a little bit of water (maybe ¼ cup or so?? Like I said I don’t measure) to the blender and blend until nice and smooth.

7. Taste sauce. It should be incredibly delicious. I didn’t need to add any salt or pepper but you may like those things added.

8. Chop up some mushrooms and spinach and put them in the already nice and hot sauté pan, sauté until spinach is limp and mushrooms have shrunk down a bit.

9. By this time the water should be boiling and you can put in the gnocchi. It should only take 2 minutes to cook so while that is going add the cream sauce to the mushroom/spinach mixture. MMMMM delicious already.

10. Drain the gnocchi and serve (I topped it with a tad of mozzarella and some basil)

This fantastic meal contains 381 calories, 47g carbs, 10g fat (half from cheese), and 23g protein (thanks to sparkpeople and to Julie for turning me on to it) for a 1 ¼ cup serving of gnocchi and enough sauce to sufficiently cover it, well.

The final thing on the agenda is a little news bit I read this morning. In California democratic assemblywoman Sally Lieber is going to introduce a law making spanking, hitting, and slapping a child under four a misdemeanor. Personally, it’s fine by me. I wasn’t a spanked child and I don’t plan to spank my future unborn children. However, I wonder if a light spank is the same thing as a hit or a slap? I am not sure. Maybe it depends on the person who is doing the hitting? Also, what is the deal on the age limit? Are there already laws to protect older children or does it not matter if they are spanked, hit, and slapped? Also, while I am certainly not an advocate of that type of punishment so many people are and I really wonder if such a law is truly going to be effective. Are Californian kids going to call the police on their parents every chance they get? Just got me thinking.

As a result of thinking, I think I have certainly rambled enough and it is time for this week’s Name That Tune. I have Tony’s iPod today so we’ll see what happens. Monica asked that I put slashes to separate lines rather than periods. That made sense to me.

1. Angel came down from heaven yesterday/ stayed with me just long enough to rescue me. Angel, Jimi Hendrix. Identified by Brooke

2. She’s a miss beautiful supreme/ A girl that others wish that they could be. Ebony Eyes, stevie Wonder. Identified by Brooke. (way to get the easy ones Friend)

3. Now who got the chance to make things right/ Why the politicians always want to fight

4. Dreamed I was an Eskimo/ frozen wind began to blow/ and my mama cried. Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, Frank Zappa. Identified by The Doc and Monica

5. At night I can’t sleep I toss and turn/ Candlesticks in the dark visions of bodies being burned. My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me, The Geto Boyz. Identified by Monica