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  • the olympics so far

    [Photo]
    National Aquatics Center aka Water Cube, originally uploaded by vivelavodka.

    a couple of observations from seven days of olympic coverage so far:

     

    • archery — these bows have technology that rivals most nuclear missle silos. where are the purists that are complaining about the competative advantage of the new swimming suits?!?

     

     

    • badminton — i some how managed to watch the u.s. lose all four of their competitions, and wasn’t able to muster much interest after that.

     

     

    • beach vollyball — i swear. i am rooting for the men’s teams as much as the women’s teams. really. i promise.

     

     

    • cycling — the woman’s road race was held in the worst rain storm i have ever seen. at one point towards the end, you couldn’t tell if they competitors were on a bicycle or a kayak.

     

     

    • equestrian — dressage (the sport of walking a horse around a ring) is the most ridiculous “human” competition i have ever seen. they should give the medals to the horses, not the people holding up the top-hats.

     

     

    • fencing — absolutely addictive. so far, this my curling for the beijing olympic games. bonus: the bulky outfits that the competitors wear helps “prove” that my interest in beach volleyball and field hockey have nothing to do with their sexy outfits.

     

     

    • field hockey — awesome. i never knew this sport existed, outside of seeing girls at my high school in their pleated skirts. the worst player for worst team could put me in a hospital with their pinkie. that’s my kind of sport.

     

     

     

     

    • shooting — my first “cheer out load” moment came when an american snagged the bronze in trap shooting. unfortunately, it happened to be while i was “multitasking” at work.

     

     

    • soccer — the men flamed out in the group stage, the women have advanced to the medal rounds. it’s nice to know that some things never change for the u.s. national teams.

     

     

    • table tennis — despite all of nbc’s attempts to glamorize this sport, it’s still ping-pong. it will *always* be ping-pong. except it doesn’t have beer. (not a good thing.)

     

     

     

    the serious winner from the olympics so far is the divine marriage of my tivo to the lady sparkler’s HD tv. it’s amazing how much difference the high-def “experience” actually makes, and (more importantly) how quickly you can watch a 24 hours worth of Olympic coverage when you “tivo” out the fluff pieces, the commercials, and the awful commentary…

  • nbc’s gymnastics commentators: a disaster of epic proportions

    just finished up the olympic women’s gymnastics team all-a-round competition … and we are *done* with the manic-depressive rantings that spew from nbc’s gymnastics commentators.

    update: for 2012’s NBC gymnastics coverage — live commentary is here, or follow on twitter.

    some snapshots:

    • when Alicia Sacramone fell on a floor routine, it was a “a catastrophe of epic proportions.”
    • when an men’s gymnast fell off the apparatus: “High bar 101, grab the bar.”
    • apparently, japan and romania’s women “don’t show the proper respect for the olympics” by enjoying themselves on the gym floor, and they would be ultimately unsuccessful because they were “unfocused” (romania went on to medal).
    • they won’t shut up about the age of the chinese gymnasts, saying at least three times that “nothing more need be said” about the controversy (if they would only *heed* this themselves).
    • when the chinese started their final routine: “Pick your measure of pressure and multiply it by one point three billion.”

    really, people. they weren’t negotiating a peace treaty. they weren’t transporting nuclear waste. this is a sport. frankly, Sacramone going to have all sorts of undeserved shrink bills even without your drama queen commentary. (we still love you, alicia…)

    turns out that we aren’t the only haters. their are tons of nasty commentary about NBC’s lousy commentary.

    anyway, we’re using the mute button from here on out.

  • beware restaurant week

    d.c. restaurant week has jacked it’s 3-course price fix from $30.08 to $35.08, but all this means is that it’s cheaper to eat off the regular menu. at tabaq, the parts of the meal — kabob ($16), grape leaves ($6), dessert ($6.5) — cost $7 less than the $35.08 “deal” they used to lure you in.

    Photo: View from Tabaq’s Roof, Washington, DC.

  • where are the pick-up trucks?

    [Photo]
    2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony by cavenli2008.
    i love the olympics, and have ever since the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo. i was nine, and sick at home, and my parents put a 2-inch portable black and white tv in my room, and i watched the games just about 24 hours a day.

    but the olympic moment i remember the most? it was the summer of 1996, and i was in moscow for a summer abroad program.

    it was horrifying.

    i missed much of the games, but happened to check into a moscow hotel during the opening ceremonies. we walked into the lobby, where a handful of russians were gathered around a tiny black and white green television.

    suddenly, on the tv a fleet of pickup trucks roared into Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium, with their truck beds filled with scantily clad cheerleaders. the russian men started howling, and we were looking for any rock, log, or carpet to crawl under.

    not an olympic ceremony goes by that i don’t marvel at how little culture our young nation actually has.

  • flexday: 83 degrees and sunny

    [Photo]
    ECPA20080808_1544, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    things have been a little hectic at the office with another huge technology project coming down the pike, so i’ve missed (or cut short) my last handful of flex days.

    fortunately, no one scheduled any meetings for me this Friday, so i was able to take the day and bike down to Haines Point and back. no where near as far as my last trip, but the 83 degrees (and low humidity) certainly made up for it …

    Explore the Photo Set:
    Haines Point, Washington, DC

  • exxon/mobil hijinks at nationals park

    exxon is all over the new nationals ballpark: their logo covers the left field wall, are regularly featured on the scoreboards that circle the stadium, rotate through the television ad behind home plate, and are the “official sponsor” of the seventh-inning stretch.

    normally, this wouldn’t raise an eyebrow (especially if the ballpark was in Texas) but considering that nationals park is the first stadium in the country to be certified (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council, there are more than a few allegations of green-washing.

    so, here’s the comedy of this good will campaign … tonight, in the break before the 8th inning, the stadium P.A. guy announced each ticket holder in one of the 100 sections would get a $50 gas card courtesy of Exxon/Mobil. people (obviously) rejoice.

    so, the stadium camera (which powers the 4,500 square foot high definition scoreboard in center field) zooms in on one of the lucky winners, but he’s *refusing* to take the card … and when the very confused stadium attendant persists, he finally takes the card and chucks it across the stadium. truly a moving sign of protest, right?

    well, mostly. right before the camera guy comes to his senses and turns away for this P.R. fiasco, in the background you see a group of people lunging for the air-borne gas card like it was a home run ball.

  • We Love D.C.

    Well, it’s been exactly one year since we moved to D.C. proper, after a combined 20 years of living around the periphery (well, I did 2 years in Glover Park, but that hardly counts). so, in the spirit of the new(ish) local blog We Love DC, the lady sparkler and I spent a walk through the neighborhood recounting why we love this place.

    National Zoo
    Denizens of Mount Pleasant refer to the Zoo as their “backyard” and in a lot of ways it is. I know more about the Prairie Dogs than I do some of my friends. Free summer concerts on lion hill, winter solace because the tourists stay away, spring babies, and the best fall foliage in the city.

    Free Stuff
    It’s easy to take this for granted, but we are reminded everytime we leave the city … everything in D.C. is free. From concerts, to movies on the mall, to museums, to monuments. The first time the lady sparkler and I went to NYC together, we just couldn’t shut up about the $18, $25, $30 tickets to see anything of culture. No wonder they are so grumpy up there.

    Kennedy Center
    Truely the greatest “monument” in D.C., the Kennedy Center presents an amazing array of theatre, music and culture to the city. Sure, we should give a shout out to the Woolly Mammoth, Arena, Signature and Shakespeare Theatres too, but the top class productions in D.C. are good enough to rival those of other major cities around the world.

    Food
    A decade ago, “food” would certainly not make an area top list, but D.C. is now home to quite a few decent restaurants. Maybe they aren’t the most daring menus on the planet, but the food is top-shelf and the service is legitimately okay. Going out, we have had as many great meals as we do mediocre, and that’s a step in the right direction.

    Urban Parks
    It’s hard to believe in a city, but we really have trees and parks all over the place. Rock Creek is enormous, and just about every intersection of the big avenues has a park of some kind. Large and small, these parks are one of the reasons DC-ites are out and about so much.

    RFK Stadium
    While a source of scorn for a lot of people who just don’t get it (D.C. United’s owners to name a few), RFK Stadium is the last great municipal stadium in use in the country, and one of the truest places to watch a ballgame in the country. No doubt: we will cry if it ever gets torn down.

    Meridian Hill / Malcolm X Park
    Parisian fountains in the middle of the District … who can argue with that? Almost by definition, spring starts in the city when the park’s fountains are turned on, and it plays host to everything from picnics to drum circles. The best news, is that ten years ago it wasn’t save to think about entering the park. Now? Oasis in the city.

    Mount Pleasant
    I loved Mount Pleasant before I even knew what it was. I got lost here in the late 90s and again in 2005, both times thinking it was the most beautiful neighborhood in the world. I’m here for the amazing. She is here for the farmer’s market. It’s a win, win.

    Now, the one reason we hate this place: no one stays here … in the last 4 months, we’ve lost a handful of our closest friends to Seattle, Boston and now Mississippi. Mississippi?!? When you start losing people to the deep south, you have to wonder how great your city actually is … but why we hate D.C. (politics, interns) is a posting for another day.

  • the cat and the coffee maker

    Emily the Catthe lady sparkler wanted a french press for as long as anyone could remember, and only the possession of an existing coffee pot stood in between her and her dreams.

    in the wee hours of monday morning, however, this caffeine-driven lust percolated into a plan … with shattering consequences.

    according to initial reports, late sunday night ms. sparkler slipped treats to one “Emily the Cat,” who then proceeded to destroy said coffee pot as part of her 3:30 am caterwauling. the victim, a solid yet uninspired resident of the kitchen, was apparently pushed off the silestone cliffs near the sink district onto the cold, slate flooring below.

    when apprehended, ms. the cat declined to comment. old crate and barrel gift cards, left over from ms. sparkler’s recent wedding, have already been mobilized as part of the relief effort.

    in other coffee related news, sparkler fan-favourite burkina boy has recently published a sustainable coffee guide on the web site of some leading conservation organization working to protect life, preserve nature, etc., etc., etc.

  • nso @ carter barron ampitheatre

    after ten years of trying, i’ve finally seem something at carter barron, d.c.’s outdoor ampitheatre that’s nary 15 blocks up rock creek. the program was superb, the conductor hilarious (in a David Schwimmer sorta way), and the accoustics were better than the kennedy center. well worth the wait.

    Photo Courtesy of National Park Service.

  • yet another rain delay/power outage/sign of the apocalypse for d.c. united

    D.C United vs Houston Dynamo, RFK Stadium, Washington, DC.