August 12, 2008

Olympics thread.

You don't have to hijack another post tonight. Talk about the Olympics here.

111 comments:

Meade said...

Have you heard? Turns out John Edwards did have a mistress after all!!! While his wife HAD CANCER! And can you believe it? Bush and Obama say nothing. The nerve of some politicians these days!

Ann Althouse said...

LOL.

Ann Althouse said...

I'm catching up on the TiVo'd stuff from last night...

Synchronized diving... love the torsos! Don't so much like when the guys aren't the same size. Love that we get to watch them showering. What's that all about?

vbspurs said...

LOL! First post after Ann opened up a thread on the Olympics, and it's about Edwards.

And guess what? I was dying to talk about this, Meade. *high five*

Turns out she was present with that ungainly camera filming his campaign, as late as January 2008 (according to cable news).

But he broke up with her in 2006, and the Edwards' renewed their vows in 2007?

Yeah, right.

vbspurs said...

What's that all about?

Yahoo! answers.

"They are trying to stay warm.

The air temperature around a pool is on the cool side. Otherwise all the spectators and judges would melt from the humidity. The pool water is also cool. Add cool pool water + cool air temperature, and the divers can easily get chilled between dives. The pool-side shower and whirlpool are a place to stay warm and loose."


I prefer swimming to diving, especially synchronised diving.

Meade said...

Hey! and I LOL'ed at "You don't have to hijack another post tonight."

So can we get married now?

Ann Althouse said...

Now, I'm switching to tonight's stuff. And it's women's synchronized diving. Love the Chinese women.

Meade said...

"I prefer swimming to diving, especially synchronised diving."

Excuse me? I believe _I_ was hijacking this thread?

Ann Althouse said...

Send a picture.

vbspurs said...

In honour of Meade, I dub threadjacking Beijing Syndrome instead of Stockholm Syndrome, which that Patty Hearst had.

Have a cold. Coughing. Be back later after the Olympics!

Cheers,
Victoria

Ann Althouse said...

Oh, so China pairs the divers up for having similar body types. I suppose David Brooks would say that they are being collectivist.... But it's aesthetically appealing.

Ann Althouse said...

I love the synchronized diving. The announcers do a great job of teaching us how to watch, and you can really see what the basis of the judging is. Good looks good, and not so good looks not so good. It's really comprehensible, and I'm not resorting to rooting for Americans. I'm rooting for beauty. I love that.

bill said...

Synchronized swimming isn't a sport. Anything that involves waiting for someone to assign you a score is a competition, not a sport. That's why I switched over to "Wipeout." It's like watching "Ow! My Balls!" from Idiocracy.

Meade said...

"Send a picture."

You mean, like, in my little diving shorts? In the shower?

Hope your cold goes away soon, Vic. I'll be back later too. I have to go feed some chickens. I'll try to get a picture. Of the chickens. In their little diving shorts. For RH.

Richard said...

And now we interrupt sports for a paid political advertisement.

Peter V. Bella said...

Meade said...
I'll be back later too. I have to go feed some chickens. I'll try to get a picture. Of the chickens. In their little diving shorts. For RH.

Oh man, another chicken porn pervert. Next you will be telling us how you choked your chicken.

Ann Althouse said...

The male synchronized divers should synchronized the removal of body hair. If one is going to leave the hair on his legs, the other should too. Basically, I would recommend the removal of all but head hair for both. Get the same haircuts. And no tattoos, even Olympics rings tattoos, especially if they don't both do it.

blake said...

Dang, I was pretty sure I was in the running for the gold in Olympic threadjacking, too.

Ann Althouse said...

Why are they showing all this men's beach volleyball? Is it just cover for showing all the women's?

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Why don't they award more medals? And why is bronze for third? Why not platinum for first, gold for second, silver for third, lead for fourth, nickel for fifth, zinc, tin, and so forth?

They'll need to do that soon enough. When all the kids who get trophies for everything now grow up, they'll demand a medal for everyone who participated.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

What lyrics do you add to the Olympics music?

I do this:

"This IS the O-lym-pics song. I DON'T know the words, so I'll make so-ome up myself..." [Repeat]

Palladian said...

Oh for an all-male Olympics...

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Too much tootie.

Mem'ries. Like the corners of my mind...

Randy said...

Ruth Anne - I hear the London Olympics gave the medal contract to Cadbury's. Gold, silver and bronze wrapped chocolate medals for everyone. Who gets the "Fruit & Nut" variety has yet to be decided.

Susan said...

Do the judges of the syncronized diving get to look at a slow motion replay of the dives before they give their scores? Cause if not, damn, they should get a medal for being able to see all those little nuances in just a few seconds of diving.

Simon said...

Meade said...
"You mean, like, in my little diving shorts?"

Shorts are out, IIRC. ;)

I can't be the only one who has almost no interest in the olympics.

Anonymous said...

No buckteeth on the Chinese divers, I note.

Anonymous said...

This is a sport that would be better if performed nude. Ditto beach volleyball.

Power lifting, not so much.

Kirby Olson said...

I said I'd boycott in favor of the Tibetans, but I'm rather eagerly trying to catch a badminton match. A Finn named Ville Land was winning for a while, but now I think he's out.

Peter V. Bella said...

Simon said...
I can't be the only one who has almost no interest in the olympics.


You are not. But we have no support group.

EnigmatiCore said...

"Why are they showing all this men's beach volleyball? Is it just cover for showing all the women's?"

They need to show more of Kerri Walsh's ass. I hate to go all Titus on us, but holy mother of Jesus...

Ann Althouse said...

Talk about Phelps. The greatest.

EnigmatiCore said...

What is there to say about Phelps? Best I have seen in any Olympic sports since Hayden and Spitz. He made it look easy tonight.

Titusraj said...

How rude of someone to threadjack one of your postings regarding the Olympics.

I totally love that Raj gymnast. He is so beautiful.

They shower to keep warm-if you would of read my postings last night you would of known that.

Titusraj said...

The womens gymnasts have asses you could bounc quarters off of-I Like That.

Titusraj said...

Why don't the men floor exercises have music and womens do?

Too gay?

Titusraj said...

I bet Michael Phelps has a big cock.

Simon said...

MCG - they're all too young for me, I fear. Except the swimmer who was on the cover of time, who was kind of too masculine for me. So I guess I'm missing out for my predilections.

Titusraj said...

That chinese gymnast look about 10 years old

Titusraj said...

Simon I would prefer not to hear about women in the olympics you like. That's gross and disrespectful to these fine athletes


I bet Raj and one of the Hamm twins have done it.

Titusraj said...

The gymnasts bodies must be so fucked up. After they perform every exercise they are taping their entire body back together.

I would even move to Texas to be Raj's wife.

Titusraj said...

Why isn't Greg Lousanus a commentator for diving?

Palladian said...

"What is there to say about Phelps?"

I think Althouse wants you to talk about his ass.

Palladian said...

Hey Titus....

Zachary Sire said...

WHOA. Thank you Palladian. Thank you very much.

vbspurs said...

I'm back because I just had to make this observation tonight.

What is UP with all these world swimming records not just being broken, but absolutely CRUSHED?

As I write, I am watching the USA Men's Team WAAAAAAY ahead of the record pace.

But not just the USA men, but Bernard of France broke a world record in the semis. The Italian Pelligrini also broke a world record in her swim.

After the lip-synching revelation, and the fireworks "enhancement" I have to ask the swimmers here:

Is there a way to "juice" the pool?

I wouldn't put it past the Chinese to try to make this into the most memorable swimming Olympics ever, just so that everyone remembers it for that (like Mexico and the long-distance jumpers).

Cheers,
Victoria

Palladian said...

Sure thing, honey. And it's probably cold in there too. The mind wanders...

Mhm...

gurr...

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Victoria: Ancient Chinese secret.


Actually, it was well designed to minimize chop, it is much wider, it has bigger gutters, special lane dividers, there are extra unused lanes on both sides. All this from my husband, you're welcome.

vbspurs said...

Ruth Anne, excellent info. Please thank your husband!

BTW, I have Family Guy on now, and Stewie is doing your favourite skit "Still working on that novel, hmmm?".

Makes a change.

Zachary Sire said...

Victoria,
I saw a piece on CBS news tonight that explained why all the records were being broken...something about new swimming pools with different depths and water levels. I guess it makes them go faster? I wasn't really paying attention...

I still think they're all using performance enhancing drugs, but that's just the cynic in me.

Those pictures of Phelps are ridiculously good. I'm suddenly a fan...even though his face/smile is kind of funky.

vbspurs said...


Mhm...

gurr...


Wow, okay, now I see why I don't drool over competitive male swimmers.

Like when I was a child and saw George Michael for the first time in those teency shorts, and somehow realised without knowing a thing about gayness, that that bod wasn't intended for the likes of girls.

A young Paolo Maldini is still the most gorgeous male athlete I've ever seen.

vbspurs said...

even though his face/smile is kind of funky.

Yes, your remark of "everything from the neck up is just tragic" I've already twice used in conversation.

As I noted over at Sundries, he looks too much like Kerry.

Palladian said...

"...somehow realised without knowing a thing about gayness, that that bod wasn't intended for the likes of girls."

You got that right, girl. It takes a man to handle all that.

LoafingOaf said...

I can't get into the female gymnastics because Bella Koroyli (sp?) was on MSNBC (or one of those channels) this afternoon and said half the Chinese team are underage.

But the swimming! I'm starting to develop a crush on this Aussie swimmer, Rice.

And what can ya say about Phelps. History being made.

Vbspurs: There was an article linked by Drudge (not sure if it's still on his site) that goes over all the various reasons so many world records are being crushed. It doesn't appear anyone is doping, but the one controversy is over Speedo's suit, which some are saying creates a buoyancy that is suspect, or something like that. I was interested to read that it takes 30 minutes to put on one of these suits!! Or get put into one of them (I guess they need help getting into them).

But as the other person said, the article goes over all the reasons this is pretty much the most perfectly designed swimming pool.

Zachary Sire said...

As I noted over at Sundries, he looks too much like Kerry.

He's not that bad! But hey, that's what brown paper bags are for!

LoafingOaf said...

The American female gymnasts have these shiny outfits that accentuate their muscles. I see they're wearing a different outfit than the other day, when they had yellow stars on them. I like tonight's outfits better. Yellow is not a color I associate with Team USA! Or was it gold?

vbspurs said...

Heh, Palladian. You're welcome to that piece of meat. You leave Simon Le Bon to mama.

Loafing wrote:

Or get put into one of them (I guess they need help getting into them).

Wow, then it speaks to Phelps utter genius as a swimmer, because he doesn't use the full version.

BTW, I heard that Spitz retired after the Munich Olympics, aged 22?

He could've had so many more if he had gone on. Not to take anything away from Phelps, of course

Cheers,
Victoria

Palladian said...

I think Phelps is actually kind of cute with facial hair.'

But hey, who cares about faces.

LoafingOaf said...

Whatever happened to gymanastics scores being on a 10 point scale? That was better. You could shoot for the Perefect 10. Now they shoot for a...um...16.900??

reader_iam said...

This is a sport that would be better if performed nude. Ditto beach volleyball.

Assuming you're talking about synchronized diving, there'd have be some additional (...and interesting...) synchronization, hmmmM? Talk about nuance.

Interesting pictures forming in my head; been away from husband too long. Home for a visit tomorrow!)

vbspurs said...

ZPS, he wasn't that bad as a kid. He dated Janet Auchinchloss, after all.

LoafingOaf said...

When I swam in high school I know it made a huge difference when my school got more modern, state of the art sarting blocks. Every little thing makes a difference! Obviously Beijing's swimming cube has the state of the art in everything for a pool. Even the lane lines have an advancement in technology.

Trooper York said...

Everything is sex with youse guys!
Jeeez.

LoafingOaf said...

Don't you think volleyball is a crappy spectator sport? It's just the same thing over and over and over again. There are no climaxes. Like what is the equivalent of a slam dunk in basketball?

LoafingOaf said...

He could've had so many more if he had gone on. Not to take anything away from Phelps, of course

That article Drudge linked talked about that, too. When it was all amatuers swimmers had to retire younger. Plus, swimming is becoming a bigger sport, so better athletes are going into the sport.

Simon said...

Palladian said...
"But hey, who cares about faces."

Lookit, doesn't that thing contribute to drag in the water?

Trooper York said...

What's the proper terminology for male camel toe?

vbspurs said...

Lookit, doesn't that thing contribute to drag in the water?

What do you propose they do, Simon, cut it off??! ;)

LoafingOaf said...

Isn't the Chinese female gymnastics team being obviously comprised of underage athletes the equivalent of a sprinter injecting dope right on camera before a race?

And yet they get away with it.

amba said...

There's something horrible about girls' gymnastics. All that sexless, angry wiggling of skinny little butts and perfunctory posing of hands -- the anxiety, the anorexia, the murderous competition -- it's vicious! Heathers, Mean Girls, junior high to the tenth power. Joyless!

Trooper York said...

If Hop Sing were awake he would say that was racist.

Beth said...

When did Bob Costas start wearing a toupee? He's all serious and smart but I keep thinking "MO!" and I can't watch him anymore.

Trooper York said...

Then he would make Hoss a ham sandwich.

Trooper York said...

"He's all serious and smart but I keep thinking "MO!" and I can't watch him anymore"

Bob Costas is gay?

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

vbspurs said...

Good stuff from the Chinese women gymnasts (I use the term "women" advisedly).

I even like that they have a Chinese-sounding song as background.

Much better than Xuxa's "Ilariê" during the swimming. What was that all about?

Trooper York said...

Hey is that the same Bella guy who did the blogging heads about being single?

vbspurs said...

Joyless!

Amba, when it's done right, it's a combination of Hello Kitty sweet, and Annette Funicello girlish.

I adore Nadia Comaneci (Ruth Anne and I have spoken about our shared love at length). Her floor routines made other little girls' hearts flutter, rather than horndog-fodder for Lipsyte types.

"Saucy and pert".

I think that's Jim McKay saying that. Spot on.

amba said...

LOL, Reader.

What's funny is that with all the hard and soft porn and suggestive advertising that's around, people are still looking for sex in the Olympics.

Simon said...

vbspurs said...
"What do you propose they do, Simon, cut it off??! ;)"

Well, that'd be real commitment, wouldn't it... what happened to shrinkage, anyway? ;)

amba said...

Victoria, they look so grim to me. The Americans especially. Comaneci did not. (She was just so happy not to be in Romania . . . )

Chip Ahoy said...

Juicing the pool. They could sneakily treat the water to make it more slippery.

Wutup widat green bar? Is it inside the pool or is it added electronically or what?

vbspurs said...

what happened to shrinkage, anyway? ;)

They all have photos of Titus in the lockerroom?

Amba, I don't think you're wrong, but it's interesting that girls had so few outlets to prove they are as physically gifted as men, as well as to be allowed to be cut-throat in competition.

Back in the day, there was ballet, tennis, gymnastics, and figure skating.

Much better than the "Miss" contests, IMHO, which are genuinely creepy.

Chip Ahoy said...

Male swimmers committment. They could tuck it under like the character Jame Gumb in Silence of the Lambs.

reader_iam said...

Well, it's obvious that it's easier to "synch" stiffy than slinky. But what to do about different compass orientations, if ya know what I mean? Again, talk about nuance. I mean, it's not like you can put in a stand-in for aesthetic perfection, as with little girls whose teeth don't live up to their voices.

Oh, dear. I have a feeling that someone or another around here will try to tell me that's not so, and why, and how.

Tell you what. I'll just take your word for it, in advance.

vbspurs said...

But what to do about different compass orientations, if ya know what I mean?

I may be a Righty, but I like it when they lean Lefty.

Whew! On that note...night guys. ;)

Palladian said...

"what happened to shrinkage, anyway? ;)"

That's what's so err... compelling about Phelp's delicious bulge... it's that size after shrinkage.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Victoria:
This routine, from little Olga Korbut in the 1972 Munich games is what lit my gymnastics flame.

Back when we did belly beats on the unevens. You know...the good old days.

Chip Ahoy said...

Wow. I just discovered Mac voiceover feature by trying to find refresh F key. Startling. The laptop suddenly started telling me what I was doing.

Chip Ahoy said...

Belly beats. Those had to hurt.

amba said...

Reader!! I'm blushing.

Continuing to think about why the Olympics are sexy.

Maybe because the athletes seem like real people and not just image generators like (many Hollywood) actors and models. And because their beauty is good for something besides just looking good. Form follows function, or something.

"Form follows function." Mmm. All those caressing F's. One can imagine actually getting it on with them.

Cedarford said...

My own pet theory on the record swim times:

ChiCommies diverted a good amount of heavy water from their nuclear weapons program. Swimmers are more buoyant in deuterium oxide. Then the Chicommies added a special surfactant made from Panda vomit that only they possess that makes the heavy water also slipperier.

And of course the ChiCommies love the US-created fast swim suits, since in a few years, all the suits and all the money and jobs from making them will be all based in China's hands.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Amba:
She and Bart Connor got married in Bucharest in 1996 in a lavish orthodox wedding.
Ceausescu was gone by then, though.

Beth said...

Amba, when it's done right, it's a combination of Hello Kitty sweet, and Annette Funicello girlish.

They're no Annette's but the Chinese girl gymnasts were more joyful and playful in their routines, and their routines looked more complex to my untrained eyes. The Americans did seem grim. I liked watching the Chinese girls shake hands with each of the silver and bronze medalists before taking their place on the stand for the gold. That was classy.

Beth said...

Annettes, of course. Sleepy.

blake said...

Hey, Alicia Sacramone has breasts!

They move when she runs, and everything!

Here's a great picture, even though it doesn't demonstrate my point.

I gotta say, though, I think your theory is wrong, Althouse. The more womanly functionality the female form provides, the less suited it is for these kinds of gymnastics. An older woman will be stronger, sure, but it won't make up for her increased weight.

It's true for men, too, in some cases. Men's (solo) figure skaters, for example, tend to be short. You can't compensate for the extra weight, even if it's all muscle.

Beth said...

Blake, is it weight, or center of gravity?

blake said...

I have to assume it's weight, Beth, because it happens to guys, too. Scott Hamilton's only about 4'2".

Though the center of gravity shift has to help in some things (like balance) and hurt in others (doing flips on the, uh, Y-axis?).

blake said...

On the other hand, would boys be able to do as well as the girls?

You'd think so, which would suggest they could spin things the other way, and have teen boys competing next to the girls. Heh.

blake said...

Alicia Sacramone just missed her leap on to the balance beam. (You guys have seen this already, no doubt.)

Heartbreaking.

Kev said...

Here's a great quote from a NY Post writer regarding the men's 4x200 freestyle relay team (of which Phelps is a member): "The only way the[y] could have done it better, or faster, is if they had used a boat."

Full article here, discussing how it's easy to run out of adjectives to describe Phelps' greatness.

Ann Althouse said...

Blake's 1:06 comment is bringing me a lot of Google traffic!

Peter V. Bella said...

Trooper York said...
What's the proper terminology for male camel toe?


It depends if it is one hump or two.

vbspurs said...

Ruth Anne wrote:

This routine, from little Olga Korbut

Wow, just wow. I had never seen this particular routine before. Jebus.

No offence to my heroine Nadia, but how on earth was this not a 10?

vbspurs said...

Blake's 1:06 comment is bringing me a lot of Google traffic!

Typical really.

We discuss Michael Phelps appendage for hours, if not days, including which way it veers -- and one weency comment about tits breaks Ann's Site Metre.

vbspurs said...

Ruth Anne, your link to Nadia's site (again, since you once did it for me on my blog) yielded these photos:

Nadia hugging Bill Clinton

This was clearly post-heart op, when he looked skeletal (for his standards). Hoo-eee. That face. I think I like him better a bit chubby.

I also have a sneaking suspicion Nadia and Bart lean Lefty, because amongst the photos are featured George Clooney, Maria Shriver, Hillary, Matt Damon, etc.

Who cares. I still love you, Nadia!

P.S.: And I don't care who you are, you have to get chills when you see:

Nadia and this guy. Not to mention this guy.

reader_iam said...

Well, I managed to make Amba blush, an achievement of sorts! What are a few search hits compared to that?! LOL.

; )

Have fun today.

blake said...

Hey, TrooperYork wrote "pornolady" on my blog once and it drives traffic like "HOT ANGELINA NUDE XXX VIDEO".

blake said...

I should probably apologize for the above message. Heh.

Hey, when did power lifters stop being super-fat?

TMink said...

"What's the proper terminology for male camel toe?"

Moose knuckle?

Trey

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Victoria: I thought the same thing, but then I stumbled across the picture with Toby Keith and the mention that he's an Oklahoma neighbor. Also: Orthodox wedding pics and baptism pics mights balance some of it out. A lot of the other celebs are part-and-parcel of the Special Olympics altruism the Connors do.

Perhaps it's a page out of the Althouse 'cruel neutrality' playbook.

~~~

Trey: Heh.

veni vidi vici said...

the dude with the elbow. jeezus. made me queasy just scrolling thru the pics. actually, i got preemptively queasy upon seeing the link on drudge. horrid. i feel awful for the dude, but there's worse that can happen to a deadlifter (see rotten.com for details - gives the catcall "blow it out yer ass!" a whole new meaning).