Was anybody else scared witless when they set off the fireworks after Obama's speech?

First day of classes for the semester. As soon as I stepped out the door, I could feel it—autumn. Though the equinox is still just under a month away, the musty aura of another semester already permeates the air and repels the hapless student.

Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was out early in the (cooler) morning, at which time I'm never awake in the summer. Yeah, that might be it.

More Olympics Notes

Diving seems a combination of boring and wince-inducingly dangerous. How do they avoid hitting their heads on the platform? Scary.

I heard somewhere that, in the opening ceremony, they had a fairly pretty little girl "singing"....actually lip-synching to a recording of a different little girl....one that, well, isn't quite so pretty. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, I'd be a little worried about "experts'" predictions of the coming "era of the Chinese" as the next supreme world power after the States. Mind you, it's not like the world's in great shape under the States' highness......

Eh...I'm tired. I know because I'm getting confused by my own writings.

I might append more to this entry if more occurs to me.

I enjoy this annual list for some reason.

On the Olympics

I never really gave the Olympics much thought until this year. Traditionally, the Cubs aside, sports and me have been like Baghdad and a clown on a pogo stick....no relation whatsoever between the two (at least none of which I can think). I've been in a bit of a funk recently. I mentioned this to a relative (Hi there!), and he recommended that I watch some of the Olympics. I initially didn't think very much about this suggestion, but I came to think it worth a shot. Just in time for the opening ceremony.

Wow. The opening ceremony. I wish the beings of this universe luck at producing anything that comes at all close to the majesty of this.

So I watched some events. Of course, I suppose there's a certain gravitational pull about one guy setting a record for gold medals in a single Olympiad....but Michael Phelps aside, I came to realize that the Olympics are, in fact, rather enjoyable at times, and a nice change of pace from the usual, everyday crud, even if the announcers seem a bit dim at what I think are far too many times. A great performance is truly worth seeing.

I find it easier to stay tuned in if I feel I can "connect" with the competitors. Often this is not the case. This time around, though, there seemed to be some fairly likable characters, such as Usain "Lightning" Bolt and the delightfully smiley Shawn Johnson. (I saw that, in an interview with whatshisname Bob Costas, Johnson wore these peace symbol earrings. I don't wear earrings, but if I did, they just might look like those.) There may have been more than I can recall, but you know the U.S. media.....just shine the spotlight on a select few people. Of course, I suppose it's a bit difficult to look closely at every single athlete at Beijing. We'd hardly have time to see an actual event.

Oh, and there's also Bela Karolyi. Another likable character.

Anyway, I'll miss the Olympics along that long, rough road of the same ol' same ol'. Maybe the next Olympics will be worth something as well.....?

Cheers for the tip, my dear great-uncle. Now, what to do when the Cubs are done playing......hopefully that won't be for quite a while.....

I hope some of this is coherent. I was kind of doing a bunch of things when I typed this up, and I have no idea how it has turned out.

Something is dreadfully wrong with Bob Costas.

I prefer to just eat when I'm hungry, rather than eating any time it's "time to eat." Is that really such a crime?

Heard the first ad of the year to feature Christmas music today.

The tenth of August.

A Sign That the Country's Gone Downhill

"Cool" people used to be called cats. "Hey, man, that is one cool cat." Now cool people are called "Dawg." Another sign that the country's gone downhill since the old days.