Observations from the Couch 8.2

I crawled out of bed on three hours sleep today to watch the U.S.A. vs Australia field hockey game only to have high school flashbacks. I played hockey for six years and one of the worst places to play was a private school in Lancaster County, PA, Lancaster Mennonite. I never really understood where the Mennonite part came in because it is a very expensive school to attend. It was the worst place to play because it had a blue turf field that was so much faster and harder than the grass I always played on. I was always sore when we played there. So I turn on the game this morning and there it was, blue turf surrounded by pink like some sort of garish sporting nightmare.

I was wondering why nobody around here seems to be as excited about Olympic hockey as I am. Having played for so long I sometimes forget how limited in scope the sport is in this country, nowhere near as popular as soccer, and men's field hockey is nearly non-existent. Field hockey has grown at the college level because of Title IX which in 1972 mandated colleges fund comparable men's and women's sports programs. But even in the NCAA field hockey is dominated by a select few schools basically in the Big10 and ACC conferences. In the last ten years only three teams have won the NCAA Div I title, Maryland (5), Wake Forrest (3), and North Carolina (2). All three are ACC schools and half the members of the U.S. Olympic team went to one of these schools.

But for this post I'm going to narrow it down even farther. Of the sixteen members of U.S. national team nine are from Pennsylvania and seven of those nine are from eastern Pennsylvania. Eastern Pennsylvania just seems to be the heartland of field hockey in the United States but that may be about to change and not for the better. This year the PIAA. the body that governs high school sports in PA, will no longer sponsor a spring girl's soccer season in the eastern part of the state. This means girls will no longer be able to play both field hockey and soccer. The only reason given for the move is to unify the sport as it's the only sport in the state without a state champion or full state playoff.

Now that I answered my field hockey question I have a new one. Why don't they play lacrosse in the Olympics? Lacrosse, that sport invented by the Iroquois, played mainly in the eastern United States.

Never mind.

Observations from the Window 8.1

I love to fly and I always have but its been a long time since I flew anywhere let alone a flight the length of JFK to Paris. I thought this would set some kind of record for me but the close to 8 hour flight time to Paris is still an hour short of the 9 hours from Chicago to Honolulu. When I think back that trip seems like an entirely different life but it did land me on Kee Beach on Kauai, still what I think is the closest this planet gets to perfect. Getting back to this life, due to the crazed world of time zones this flight is still going to be something totally new to me. As of now I'll be leaving JFK around 10PM and arriving at Charles de Gaulle around 10AM the next day. According to the Air France website "hot and cold drinks, with or without alcohol, are served."
Without alcohol? Seriously? Why?

I'll be staying in the Montparnasse area of Paris close to where Ernst Hemingway rented an apartment on the Rue du Cardinal Lemoine and about a thirty minute walk to The Louvre. I'm going to load A Movable Feast on my netbook and maybe see if I can find some of the spots. I don't expect to run into Hemingway's ghost but if I should I have plenty of questions to ask him about his years in Paris but also about his third wife the journalist Martha Gellhorn. Still if I don't see him I'd be perfectly happy to run into his very much living great-granddaughter Dree, that would work for me too.

At the turn and early part of the 20^th century the Montparnasse was the heart and soul of artistic Paris. A list of its more famous inhabitants includes not only Hemingway but Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Jacques Lipchitz, Ezra Pound, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Montparnasse and its cafes was also the social center of the large American expatriate community in Paris of which Hemingway wrote so much. Marc Chagall said he had gone to Montparnasse because at the time "The sun of Art then shone only on Paris." Living in the Village it may seem strange but at times I think the same thing.

For now beyond that I haven't made any major plans. Work, walk, shop, walk to the Louvre, and try not to look too out of my element doing it. The shopping may be a major plan because I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get anything. I toyed with the idea of taking an empty bag but with the Paris weather all over the place, 60° one day and 75° the next, I have no idea what to pack.

Finally, a friend sent me this video, totally gets me in the mood ....

Paris In Motion (Part I) from Mayeul Akpovi on Vimeo.

Soundtrack: Angel - Massive Attack, Mezzanine (awesome tune)
Mayeul Akpovi Photographies - facebook
© July 2012

Observations from the Couch 7.31, Updates

With a win in the 4x200 freestyle relay American swimmer Michael Phelps became the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. His 19^th medal surpassed the 18 of Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina as he broke one of those sports records that will never be broken. For the record Phelps currently has 15 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals and he still has three races to go in London. This is one Olympic moment that deserves a drink and I shall have one.

In all fairness to Hope Solo I thought I should mention that she is far from the only athlete in London who needs to think before they talk. Before the games even began Kobe Bryant announced to the world that this Olympics' edition of the U.S. men's basketball team was better than even the original "dream team." That was the 1992 Olympic team which was the first made up of NBA players and has sometimes been called the best sports team of any kind ever assembled. To answer Kobe I'll just throw out a few names from that team. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, and David Robinson. They won every game with the wins ranging from a 32 point win in the gold medal game against Croatia to a 68 point opening game win over Angola.

Hope Solo threw a shutout today, her second in three games, as the U.S. women defeated North Korea 1-0 in front of 30,000, evidently no empty seats at this game. The American women swept the opening round of the tournament and now play New Zealand on Friday. It is the first time in Olympic history the U.S. team has swept its group.

The U.S. women's field hockey team stunned the 2^nd in the world ranked Argentina today by a 1-0 score. It was a repeat of the Pan American Games where the U.S. earned an Olympic spot by defeating Argentina. Before that loss Aregentina had not lost at the Pan Am Games in 25 years. The U.S. is ranked 10^th in the world and will face Australia on Thursday. The win keeps alive hopes for a medal after the American team lost its opening game.

In a totally different sporting area the Penn State football team  began practice today for its first season since 1965 without Joe Paterno as head coach. The team was greeted by an early morning rally attended by thousands of fans. Also the University announced it would loan the Athletic Department $60 million to pay its NCAA fine. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbitt continues to tell anybody that will listen that no tax dollars will be used to pay the fine. This is easy to believe when you consider that under Corbitt the state has cut education funding to almost nothing at all.

And than there are the Phillies. Can you say fire sale?

Observations from the Couch 7.29

U.S. Soccer starting goalie Hope Solo is one of my favorite players in any sport at any time but when she created a mini-firestorm by criticizing NBC analyst and former player Brandi Chastain on Twitter yesterday she screwed up (Hope Solo slams Brandi Chastain). The last thing a team playing at this level needs is drama because drama becomes distraction which becomes an excuse for defeat.

Chastain  played on teams that won two Women's World Cups and two Olympic championships, teams that gave birth to women's soccer as an international sport. It should be remembered that women didn't have a world cup until 1991 or play soccer in the Olympics until 1996. If not for Chastain and her teammates it's quite possible Solo would not be playing on TV at all.  But she doesn't need to thank the players that came before her, she doesn't even need to like them, she does need to respect what they did and should have just shutit. She should have taken a cue from teammate Abby Wambach who took a punch to the face against Colombia and quickly put it behind her.

After a bad Flyers loss in the past season's Stanley Cup playoffs Sarah Baicker, the Flyers editor for Comcast SportsNet Philly, tweeted
"There's a fine line between swagger (good) and arrogance (bad)."

Just another lesson some of us never learn. What? Oh shuit,
this wasn't about me ... 

What did Chastain say that sparked the whole controversy? "Rachel Buehler with the giveaway there. As a defender, your responsibilities are defend, win the ball, and then keep possession, and that’s something Rachel Buehler needs to improve on during this tournament." Seriously, that was it. Chastain made the 1996 national team as a defender,
maybe she would know, maybe that is why NBC pays her.

Finally possibly the easiest explanation for it all. Hope Solo's memoir, yes memoir, will be released next month.

Observations from the Couch 7.28.1

I just don't have words. This is so damn gay, but I totally mean that as a compliment. I especially like the segment on the flight over starting at the one minute mark.


link

Published on Jul 27, 2012 by 2012NBCOlympics
Members of the U.S. swimming team perform their rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song "Call Me Maybe" while moving around London.

Observations from the Couch 7.28

I don't plan on writing every day of the Games but I had a few things to share from today including this photo of the U.S. field hockey team at last night's opening ceremonies. The girls play their first game Sunday afternoon against Germany
at 4 PM EST.

The were a pair of big wins for American women today. In a game I 'watched' on twitter the soccer team defeated Columbia 3-0 and in the process guaranteed themselves a spot in the tournament quarterfinals. In the game Abby Wambach showed her toughness by taking a blatant punch to the head only to shake it off and score later in the second half. The goal was Wambach's 6^th as an Olympian which moves her ahead of Mia Hamm as the most ever by an American. Colombia's team is ranked 28^th in the world and includes 9 players who are on NCAA teams.

The heavily favored, and number 1 ranked in the world, U.S. women's volleyball team opened today with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 20-25, 25-21) win over South Korea. The team includes four Penn State graduates, Nicole Fawcett ('09), Christa Harmotto ('09), Alisha Glass ('10), and Megan Hodge ('10). Harmotto and Hodge are part of the 12 player squad, while Fawcett and Glass are alternates. All were part of Penn State teams that that won four straight NCAA titles between 2007 and 2010, a run that included a record 109 match winning streak.

Finally a link to an interesting review of the opening ceremonies by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in The Guardian. Ai Weiwei was a consultant to the design and construction of the Beijing Olympic Stadium. He withdrew before it was finished and described the Olympics as a government controlled "empty event" not shared by ordinary people. Ai Weiwei finishes his review with this line, "Anyone who watched it would have a clear understanding of what England is."

That final line is one of the scariest things I have ever read.

Observations from the Couch 7.27

I have a confession to make. I know this is going to be hard to believe but every four years I become even more of a sports geek than I normally am. Yes I am watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony which means I'm going to be watching some sports I barely acknowledge at any other time. I love watching gymnastics and diving but I honestly wont do it unless it's the Olympics. Still I'll only go so far and I can find better things to do than watch badminton, archery, or that infamous sport of synchronized swimming. Than there is equestrian, something otherwise known as Willard's favorite tax deduction. To me the horses do all the work and it doesn't belong in the Olympic games any more than auto or thoroughbred racing.

My favorites to watch are probably pretty obvious to anyone that knows me. Soccer, field hockey, beach volleyball, basketball, and volleyball. I guess I'm more of a team sports fan than anything else but I'll be watching anything I can find at any given time. To be honest if I wake up at 4AM tomorrow I'm already planning to turn on the women's beach volleyball match which just happens to be an important one between teams from Russia and China, both perennial beach volleyball powers.

If you are into the Olympics you totally have to watch the opening ceremonies because there are always some stories to be found. The flag bearer for Bolivia almost drowned when she was nine years old. Her parents forced her to take swimming lessons and here she is ten years later, an Olympic swimmer. Also I noticed that it must be the year of the fencer because both the American and French flag bearers were female fencers and both were kinda cute. However neither won my best flag bearer award because that goes to the Russian Federation's reigning Wimbledon Champion and all around tall girl Maria Sharapova. Saudi women marching and competing for the first time was another highlight, even if NBC chose not to show them.

Finally a bit of Olympic history for you. For the first time ever the United States Olympic Team is composed of more women than men.
Way to go girls.

Enjoy the games.

Observations on Art 7.27

My brother sent me a vid with no girls, no sports, and no art per se.
I have no idea what he was thinking. In all seriousness it's
pretty damn cool but I can't seem to get Disney's "It's a Small World"
out of my head now.

This is Our Planet from Tomislav Safundžić on Vimeo.

Image courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory,
NASA Johnson Space Center,
Crew Earth Observations Videos

Observations from the Window 7.26

It has been a draining couple of days since the NCAA announced its draconian punishment of Penn State. Draconian may not be the right word but I always liked the sound of it and never really had a chance to use it before. I didn't check so don't hold me to that statement if it turns out I did use it.  I have stressed, argued, discussed, texted, and emailed on the subject all together too much since Monday.

More than one person has reminded me I have some way more important and exciting things coming up over the next few months. Including a trip I have been dreaming about my whole life. So why did I let it get to me the way it did? Even Ash asked me that question. There are probably dozens of answers I could give but most don't hold up well. I saw a tweet from a current Penn State football player in which he said he wouldn't be transferring anywhere. He said that the team and school were like a family to him and you don't desert your family.

In a couple weeks I'll be thirty years old. Of those thirty years I have spent ten in State College. Maybe it's the splendid isolation Penn State exists in but it really does feel like family when you are there. It's just the culture of the school and town, something that one monster and a few of his buddies can't destroy. In a very intended swipe at the new
Sports Illustrated cover I'd like to say we will always be Penn State.

This subject isn't going to go away for years, if ever, but hopefully this is my last post on the subject. I'm sure it wont be my last post about Penn State because there are just so many good things I can write about. Maybe it's just time for a lot of us to move on and help
rebuild what we love.

Edmund Burke said the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

One of those lessons we just never seem to learn.

Observations on Art 7.24

This little film just fascinates me to no end. London artist Maisie Broadhead is transformed into a 19^th century photograph for the upcoming exhibition "Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present" at the National Gallery in London. The original photo by David Octavious Hill, to the left, will be in the same room. The show runs from October 31, 2012 through January 20, 2013.


OdeToHillAndAdamson from Whitehouse Content on Vimeo.

"Artist Maisie Broadhead originally trained as a jeweller and now produces fine art photographic parodies. Her work is being featured as part of a ground-breaking exhibition at the National Gallery. As part of the exhibition Jack Cole and Maisie Broadhead directed a video to be hung next to the 1844 photographic print by Hill and Adamson that it references. It was Produced by Cap Gun Collective, Edited by James Norris at Whitehouse London and Post and VFX by Carbon FX."

7/27 update - For some unknown reason you can only watch the video on Vimeo now but the link still goes right to it so I'll just leave it as is.

Observations from the Window 7.23

With the Olympics opening Friday, football/soccer on Wednesday, the sports freak in me is more than a little excited. While rock climbing isn't one of the 26 sports at the London games it is possibly the fav sport of the friend who sent me this awesome vid. The video features the 19 year old Sasha DiGiulian, all 5' 2" of her.

Sasha DiGiulian from adidas Outdoor on Vimeo.

"On October 15th 2011, adidas team athlete, Sasha DiGiulian became the first American women to climb the grade 9a (5.14d) with her historic ascent of "Pure Imagination" in Kentucky's Red River Gorge. Keith Ladzinski and Andy Mann (Three Strings Media) were there to capture her efforts and tell her story."

For more about Sasha read The Washington Post article "Rock climber Sasha DiGiulian, 19, is making her way to the top." The article also includes an awesome photo gallery.

To Whom It May Concern

Now that the dreaded Nittany Lions have been declawed to everybody's satisfaction could we please put the same enthusiasm into taking assault rifles out of the hands of wackos or at least make it once again illegal for them to purchase them? Somehow I didn't think so ....

Observations 7.23

I really wanted to stay away from the whole Paterno statue, NCAA sanctions, what did Corbitt know, its so easy to blame the dead man story, for now anyway. It's just such a total no win situation for me, too damn emotional too, and I have other things I want to write about. But yesterday I read Maureen Dowd's column in The New York Times,  "Paterno Sacked Off His Pedestal",  and to my surprise I found it good. Good other than where she falls into the same trap as everybody else and believes the Freeh Reports's assumptions about Paterno to be fact. I know, I know, stay away from it Katie.

Sometimes all to eager for punishment I was skimming the comments to the column when I came across this one from a Times reader in Dallas. I just had to nod.

"Pretty decent column Ms Dowd ...
I enjoy college football, that said, the over the top fasination with football as heroic, it's players and coaches, elivating them to such high levels of adoration is absolutely puzzling. It's a game, entertainment, little more.
We have no one else to blame but ourselfs if they get "too big" for their jobs, and believe the hype, pumped up by the "fans" misguided adorations, and the sports writers must take some of this blame as well. For all those writers recent "outrage", who help create that public image?? But I do not see how killing PSU football program serves any useful purpose. Leave Paterno's statue where it sits, it will for ever remind everyone of the good and the bad that lurks in all of us.
Let the courts handle the rest."

I should note it wasn't the first time I had read that Penn State should leave the statue up as a reminder but sadly the PSU President didn't agree. Early Sunday morning a shroud was thrown around JoePa, a tarp was thrown over his head, and he was carted off to that proverbial secure location. Later the words on the wall behind the statue were removed as well, as if it had never been there.

Memory is a fickle thing.

Observations

James Eagan Holmes walked into a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado late last night, threw tear gas canisters, and opened fire. When he was finished a dozen moviegoers were dead and at least fifty more injured. He carried four guns, all of which had been legally purchased, including an AR-15 Assault Rifle with a drum magazine holding 100 rounds of ammunition, a 12-gauge shotgun, and two Glock pistols similar to the one I once owned. The assault rifle and drum magazine were both illegal under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that was allowed to expire in 2004.

You probably have seen and heard enough about the massacre to make you ill but I have a few random things too add.

As always happens in these situations every politician and political commentator had something to say today. Only one is worth repeating here, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it's time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it. Everybody always says, 'Isn't it tragic' .... there are so many murders with guns every day, it's just got to stop. Instead of the two people, President Obama and Governor Romney, talking in broad ways that they want to make the world a better place,
okay, tell us how."

It may sound cold but please spare me the political grief and flags lowered to half staff. Since 1968 more than a million Americans have died in gun related violence, a level of carnage we as a nation found unacceptable on our highways but somehow manage to tolerate in our homes, schools, and public spaces. In 2010 alone there were 8,775 gun related deaths in the United States or an average of two dozen a day. Our flags could very easily be kept at permanent half staff.

Next time you look in the mirror ask yourself a question, ask yourself if you really care about all this, if the grief is real. If your answer is that you really do care about it you're probably lying to yourself. There are 300 million Americans and only 4 million of them are members of the NRA. If you really cared, if we cared, the carnage would stop but instead, for now, we'll just wait for the next massacre.

Finally, in some states it is now easier to buy a gun than it is to vote. That says more about the current sad state of our nation than even
James Eagan Holmes did.