Winter Olympic fever

I always say I'm not going to catch it, but here I am again watching these damned Winter Olympics.

It's a joke, really. All of these made up sports.

Last night, I watched the women's moguls, which I Googled to discover had nothing to do with the non-wizarding world of Harry Potter. Instead, it's skiers zig-zagging over a series of bumps, or "moguls," with a couple of well-placed ramps that launch the racers skyward, enabling them to do various flips and spins on which they are judged by an international panel. The competitors' total scores are based on their technique on turns and in the air, as well their speed down the hill.

It's a strange little sport, but pretty damn riveting.

What gets me most intrigued during the Winter Olympics is all the whacked out jargon NBC's commentators throw out during the competition. After a couple of runs down the hill in last night's women's mogul event, I completely understood what they meant when they said, "She's coming down with a lot of heat into the kicker, but was still able to stick the Heli."

It will get crazier as the games go on, and by the end of these two weeks, I should feel quite comfortable throwing out a "Salchow" in conversation here and there. Oh, you thought it was sow-cow?

I can't believe you've never heard of Swedish figure skating pioneer Ulrich Salchow. Sad.

Savannah Culture

We experienced a little culture last weekend in Savannah thanks to the Telfair Museum's very free Jepson Center.

The coolest thing was definitely an installation by Taiwanese artist Shih Chieh Huang callled "Counterillumination (C-2010)." It's hard to describe and the pictures available online don't do it justice, but basically he uses lights and a bunch of cheap little electronic gadgets, including synchronized computer fans that inflate and deflate plastic baggies, to create these futuristic looking creatures that resemble primitive life forms.

I did find this video that shows how he makes these creepy eyes.



Here's another one that shows the breathing baggies:



The Jepson Center also had these interactive game installations that read your movements. The first one made me feel like I was in a cross between Tron, Pong and the Billie Jean video.



The second one placed you in front of this streetscape background, then produced a musical note based on your height. The note was accompanied by pretty bubbles that floated over your head.

34

The year of Larry Bird is over as yesterday marked my Charles Barkley birthday.

I've started measuring my age by the numbers of NBA stars from the '80s because it somehow keeps me young.

Barkley feels appropriate, more so than Hakeem Olajuwon, who also wore No. 34, because 1) I'm more round; 2) I feel more likely to say outlandish things; 3) I have an uncanny nose for the boards.

Thankfully, I still have my hair.

Who doesn't love a good dolphin?

You should see the movie, The Cove.

It's an exciting little documentary by a group of Steve Zissou-esque underwater activist/adventurers who set out to expose the practices of the dolphin fishing (really, it's more trapping and stabbing, than fishing) industry in Japan. After watching it, you'll never want to eat another dolphin burger again.

Obviously, the filmmakers have an argument they're trying to make and they're not much interested in giving the other side of the story. Still, they do a fantastic job of making their case, answering all of my cynical questions.

How is this different from what we do to cows? It is.

Hey, the Japanese just eat weird shit. Maybe it's a cultural difference? It's not.

Maybe they're really, really delicious? Nope.

Nutritious? Full of mercury that'll mess you up.

Just dumb animals? Actually, they're ultra-smart, super-amazing, self-aware swimming mammals.

On top of showcasing an important issue, The Cove is entertaining movie-making, filled with strange characters, whack jobs and corrupt government officials, a little action and some suspense, not to mention really cool dolphins.

Links:

The Cove
Take Action


Trailer:

Quadron is my new favorite

Why is it that Europe is making all the best R&B these days?

If I had heard them just a couple weeks earlier, Quadron would have easily made my best of 2009 list. They're two funky Danes: a 21-year-old girl named Coco with a dynamite voice and a supercool producer named Robin Hannibal, previously of Owusu and Hannibal.

If you have the time, go listen to a couple tracks on their Myspace page. In the meantime, here's their video. It's a nice tale of love and horses.

Conan, Jay and Dave

This whole Conan and Leno thing is getting embarrassing, with each of them milking the attention for all it's worth and beyond.

My main interest in this is that, like millions of Americans, I can't stand Jay Leno. Not only is he not funny, but he's also a tremendously annoying kiss-ass. Late night talk shows that serve solely as a promotional tool are bad enough, but Leno does it with such gusto and phoniness that it becomes unbearable.

Conan's act used to be wonderful, back in the esteemed days of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the Masturbating Bear, but now he spends a little too much time doing funny little voices on the side. It's annoying, too, but I still like him.

My allegiance, though, will always be to Dave Letterman. He's smart (although the real Conan is probably smarter), he's not afraid to be outspoken or poke fun at his inane guests or ask a tough question of others, and his sense of humor is generally more in line with my own.

Plus, he hates Leno about as much as I do.

The Hawk in Hall of Fame

One of my all-time favorite Chicago Cubs, Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, was finally voted into baseball's hall of fame.

Dawson joined the Cubs after nine years playing on the Astroturf in Montreal. He still had a rocket arm, base-stealing speed and a powerful swing. He hit 49 home runs and was the MVP of the 1987 season, and the Cubs still finished in last place.

I'll never forget listening to Harry Caray's radio broadcast the day some chump San Diego pitcher, Eric Show, beaned Dawson in the face with a fast ball after Dawson had hit three home runs on the Padres over two games. He was knocked out, bleeding, but got up moments later and started chasing Show. Harry, of course, went nuts. It was wonderful.

I couldn't find any audio of Harry's call, but I did find this commercial for Pizza Hut's Harry Caray-Out Special:

Here's another nice article on Dawson from 2008 on MLB.com: Dawson commanded fear, respect