Hello everyone! I’m back after a week off for some much needed R&R. I’m happy to say that I’m no longer sick, though the size of my inbox after removing myself from the world almost took me back to a feverish state. I spent my week barely reading (gasp!) and mostly watching the Olympics and relaxing. So here’s an update, along with my rather open plan for the blog this week.

This Week’s Wrapup

Even though I wasn’t feeling well for most of this week, I have to say that it was nice taking time off and watching the Olympics. I don’t know where my interest comes from… I really am not a big fan of sports. Or, I should say, I wasn’t a big fan of sports. Until now, the only sports I ever watched and really enjoyed were the Olympics, but in the last few years I’ve found myself getting more and more interested. First, it was from the game standpoint. When I grew up a little and stopped associating football (US) players with high school jocks (from the southern US, here) then I could see the strategy in team games like Football and appreciate them. Lately though, I’ve also been feeling like getting in shape and playing some… huh, where did that come from? I really don’t know, and I doubt I’d find a friend or team who actually wanted to play with me. Besides the fact that I’m not really that good at anything athletic, I’m horribly picky. When I was younger and played tennis, for instance, I LOVED playing, but hated competing. No one seemed to just want to play — they either wanted to hit the balls around haphazardly or they were competing in tournaments. I wanted to play, just not have my ass driven into the asphalt. Plus, I’d much rather play tennis or volleyball instead of football or soccer, which are the only real sports people play around here.

So the Olympics once again offers me an outlet to explore my fantasy of being an athlete (not to mention having one of their bodies — take a look at the water polo player above, they are ripped). Of my childhood athletic dallying, my favorite was gymnastics. My parents stuck me there for a year when I wouldn’t stop bouncing off the walls and tumbling over everything (on purpose!). I had a real affinity for it, but they wanted me to join the competitive circuit, and besides the fact that it was hella expensive, I was only 6 and probably wouldn’t have wanted to leave the foam pit behind ;) Naturally, gymnastics is a sport I really look forward to watching every 4 years, and the gymnasts in London this year are pretty amazing to watch. It is nice to be able to root for your country and know they actually have a chance to win, then do! Lastly, I also swam when I was younger, something I liked as well but also didn’t want to compete in. I ended up dropping out because my friend couldn’t join the team I was on and all I really wanted to do was have fun.

Those sports are all natural for me to watch. But the great thing about the Olympics is being introduced to many sports you’ve never heard of or don’t know much about. My favorite of the latter is Beach Volleyball. I remember getting hooked watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh-Jennings win gold in Beijing. Now they’re well set to do it again. Of the former, my new favorite is men’s water polo. One look at these guys playing rough and you understand why they have the most amazing bodies in the Olympic Games. Then, add to what they get up to underwater (Speedos make for a nice handhold and tugging them off your opponent seems to be an often used tactic). Thank god for whoever invented the underwater cameras! And if Water Polo has sexiest bodies (though close second to the male gymnasts, if you like them bulky), the award for the all around cutest has to go to the male divers. Everyone knows that Tom Daley gets the heartthrob award, but have you ever seen a lineup of those guys? Watch this one event and then tell me what you think. 9 out of 10 are positively swoon-worthy (a prime example: Mexico’s Men’s Synchro Diving Pair, who won Silver in the 10m Platform). There are lots of reasons to watch the Olympics, and you can’t go wrong with watching it for the men. This year they all seem to be extraordinarily hot.

I had planned on a whole post about my Olympic viewing, along with links and info. Besides the fact that such information would be horribly late at this point, just search #NBCfail if you’re an American viewer, and you’ll see just how fucked up NBC’s coverage of these games have been. Saying events are “Live” when they really aren’t, holding coverage back for the Primetime audience every night for more advertising revenue and a boost to the flagging NBC Primetime Summer/Fall lineup, then finding that they aren’t showing what they said they would and didn’t show during the day, or only showing a third of the coverage and just “telling” you what happens in the rest of the event. Rarely showing anything but the US athletes. Don’t even get me started on the spoilers they keep dishing out after deciding to hold off on showing live coverage. It has rather disappointed my expectations and consistently draws my ire.

But, I’ll keep watching. Only one week left and though most of my favorite events are winding down, there’s still a lot more to see.

Do you have a specific Olympic sport you like to watch?? Are you watching the games as well? I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!

Coming Up This Week – August 5-11

I’m still trying to get my emil from this week sorted and I’m pretty behind on reviews. So expect several more reviews this week now that I’m reading again and as I’m trying to get the blog back on schedule :) Bear with me, please — more will be coming soon!

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