Olympic Hype

Some times athletes live up to the hype and some times they don't. In Beijing Micheal Phelps certainly did and won 8 gold medals. This time it was supposed to be Ryan Lochte's turn. However that's not how it's turning out. He was the anchor on the US 4X100 freestyle relay and started with the lead, but was passed by the Frenchman, Yannick Agnel. Then yesterday in the 200 free, he not only was beaten by Agnel again but finished out of the medals. Not a very good performance by the reigning world champion. Let's hope that he can turn it around.

Olympic TV Coverage

NBC is getting lots of criticism regarding their use of tape delay. This isn't a new problem. It comes up during every Olympics. There really isn't too much else they could do considering there is a five hour time difference. In fact NBC is "live streaming" virtually all of the events, so people can watch them live.

Opening Ceremony

The big story of the day was the opening ceremony at the London Olympics. As always it was big and flashy with lots of volunteers. Parts of it were terrific, like the Olympic rings coming together over the top of the stadium. Other parts were way over the top, like James Bond and the Queen jumping out of a helicopter. Anyway the flame was lit, and now the athletes can take center stage.

The Olympics

The 2012 London Olympics start today. It's the third time that the city has hosted the games and every thing looks ready. There will be 10,490 athletes from 204 countries participating. The London Philharmonic recorded over 52 hours of national anthems to be used during the medal ceremonies. There will also be the largest McDonald's restaurant in the world in the Olympic Park. It seats 1500. That's a lot of Big Macs.

Taxes on the Rich

Republicans are adamant that the Bush tax cuts be extended indefinitely. Meanwhile the wealthy are doing their best to avoid paying any taxes. One of their favorite tricks is to put their money in overseas accounts. Switzerland used to be very popular, but with the court settlement in 2009, Swiss banks have been forced to disclose US clients to the IRS. Thus the rich have started moving their money to the Caribbean, Panama, and Singapore, but for some even that isn't enough. Last year 1788 Americans gave up their citizenship. These guys really don't want to pay taxes.

Penn State

Penn State University has just been hit by some severe penalties by the NCAA over the Sandusky sex abuse. They were fined $60 million and the football team was banned from bowl play for four years, must vacate all wins from 1998 to 2011, lost 10 athletic scholarships per year over the next four years, and was put on probation for five years. Plus anybody on the team could transfer to another school without sitting out a year. On top of all that, the university removed the statue of Joe Paterno outside the stadium. Football will never be the same there.

Sally Ride

Astronaut Sally Ride, the first US woman in space, died yesterday from pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. I don't know why pancreatic cancer is so deadly, but 75 per cent of patients die within the year. I had a good friend who caught it, and that's what happened to her, too. In any event Sally was a great inspiration to us all and especially to women.

British Open

Ernie Els won the British Open by one stroke over Adam Scott yesterday. Despite his weak putting, Ernie shot a 32 on the back nine, while Scott choked big time, bogeying his last four holes. Tiger Woods had a triple bogey on the front nine and never was a factor.

Movie Theater Massacre

Virtually the only story on the news is the shooting at a movie theater in a suburb of Denver. Twelve people are confirmed dead and the shooter has been taken into custody. This is such a tragedy that both the presidential candidates have suspended campaigning this weekend and have pulled their ads in Colorado. While I'm certainly sympathetic with all the family and friends of the victims, I also think that the TV stations have gone overboard in covering the story. It just gets tiresome listening to the same thing over and over again.

Nude Victory

An Oregon man who stripped nude at Portland's airport security to protest what he saw as invasive measures was found not guilty of indecent exposure. The judge ruled Wednesday that John Brennan's act was one of protest and therefore, protected speech. Plus the law says that naked people are only breaking the law if they're having sex in public or got undressed "with the intent of arousing the sexual desire" of another person, and he obviously was doing neither. Let's hear it for Portland which is the city with the World Naked Bike Ride

Military Suicides

The cover story in Time magazine this week was about suicides in the military and had some alarming statistics. Since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, more members in active service have committed suicide than were killed by the enemy, and there is on average one suicide per day. This needs to be fixed.

Heat Wave

This latest heat wave has been a scorcher and the lead story on the morning shows all week. The good news is that a cold front is moving through today and will break the heat. I can hardly wait. I've been sweating even sitting around nude. The weather, at least in the Northeast, should be delightful starting Thursday. Now we need some rain for all the drought stricken areas.

Real Hero

A New York City bus driver, Steven St. Bernard, saved a young girl's life yesterday when he caught the 7 year old after she fell from a third story window. She ended up with just some bumps and bruises and he got a torn tendon and the grateful thanks from her family.

Tour de France

Some idiot threw tacks and small nails onto the road yesterday, and at least 30 riders got tire punctures. Fortunately tour leader Bradley Wiggins was a better sportsman than the saboteur, and he slowed down the peloton to allow defending champion Cadel Evans and the rest of those affected to catch up.

Selling body parts

Although selling most body parts is illegal, some can be, like hair, plasma, and now bone marrow. Two others of interest are eggs and sperm. The former are in high demand at infertility clinics, and women can get up to $8000. Although U.S. sperm is also in high demand globally, guys normally get about $700 for a donation.

US Olympic Uniforms

Ralph Lauren's (an American company) uniforms for the opening ceremonies at the London Games were revealed this week to have been manufactured in China. Needless to say all the politicians went on TV to denounce them. Harry Reid said they should all be put in a big pile and burned. Of course the US government doesn't provide any funding for the Olympic team nor is this the first time they have worn clothing manufactured overseas (including 2008 and 2010). Ironically one solution to this problem (if you call it one), is to have the athletes march into the ceremonies nude. There would be no questions then about where their clothes were made and it would be more in keeping with the original spirit of the games.

Nude Olympics

As most of you know, the first Olympics was held in 776 BC, and all the athletes competed naked. The ancient Greeks had a great appreciation of the male body and considered physical fitness a tribute to the gods. In fact the word "gymnasium" comes from the Greek word "gymnos" which means naked. Of course today's modern Olympics are not performed in the nude, but maybe one event should be. With all the controversy over the high tech swimsuits in recent years, having all those events held in the nude would certainly eliminate any questions about possible advantages. Just think about the increase in tv ratings, too!

Beach Time

We've had several very nice days in a row. It's been sunny and dry (low humidity). That's great beach weather and the tourists on Cape Cod should be in heaven. I've finally started going to the beach, too. My first day was last Friday. I used lots of sunscreen, but still got a little pink. Thus I took the weekend off and was back on Monday and Tuesday. It's amazing. My skin has gone from "fish belly white" to a nice tan (almost mid-season level) in just a few days. Soon I'll be worrying about my tan lines (and how to get rid of them). Life on the Cape is good.

The Today Show

I can't tell you how happy I am that Ann Curry left the Today Show and has been replaced by Savannah Guthrie. Ann was awful. She had been on the show forever and should have been a capable co-anchor, but she just couldn't do it. She never improved during her one year at the desk and the rated declined. I left for Good Morning America, but now I'm back.

Nude Recreation Week

Today is the start of Nude Recreation Week sponsored by AANR (American Association for Nude Recreation). The primary event this week will be the Amazing Canvas Nudist Face and Body Painting Event on Saturday. See http://www.aanr.com/nudist-face-and-body-painting-event for more information and club locations. Meanwhile get naked and beat the heat.

Wimbledon

The finals are all set. Serena Williams will play Agnieszka Radwanska for the womens title, and Roger Federer will play Andy Murray for the mens. They both should be good matches.

(7/8/12) No surprise that both Serena and Roger won. Although neither player was currently ranked #1, they've dominated tennis for years and when they play well, they win. In Federer's case in particular, it's as if a tear in the space time continuum has been repaired and world order restored.

Beer Champs

Believe it or not, the world leader in beer consumption is China. You might think it was Germany or Australia, but don't forget it's a big country. Anyway they drank 50 Billion liters of beer in 2011. That's a lot (twice as much as the U.S.).

Global Warming?

The 12-month period from May 2011 to April 2012 was the hottest recorded in U.S. history. Note that the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere also reached 391 parts per million, the highest in 800,000 years. Cause and effect? Could be. Meanwhile as of May 8, the Republican controlled House had passed 209 anti-environment bills, the most in US history. Maybe they don't understand science.

Fourth of July

Today we celebrate our nation's independence with parades and fireworks all across the country. It rained on our parade here, but very lightly and it held down the heat. Unfortunately it also held down the crowds, but the people who went enjoyed it. Many thanks to all those whose hard work made it happen.

Want a Job?

The Foxconn company, which makes iPads and iPhones for Apple in China, announced earlier this year that they would be adding 100,000 workers to their plant in Zhengzhou. The line of job applicants was a half a mile long even though the starting salaries were only $260 per month!

Wimbledon

We're half way through the tournament. Yesterday was the traditional middle Sunday day off, so everybody left got some extra rest. This week should be exciting, as most of the top seeds, except Nadal, are still around. The good news for tennis fans is that we get to do this all over again in a few weeks during the Olympics. They will also be played at Wimbledon and the players will have had more time to adjust their games to grass.