BEING ENTERTAINED BY THE WORLD...
...this is something I could get used to...
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I watch my share of Television, which is probably much too much. Mostly I view crime-oriented shows in syndication. I've probably seen the entire "CSI: Miami" series 3 or 4 times during the last couple of years. Before that, I'd seen every "NYPD Blue" complete series probably a half-dozen times. Elsewhere, my TV set is often configured to display "Forensic Files" on Tru-TV or "Criminal Minds" on A&E, which is a GRRREAT show. I read in the paper today that the CBS series, "NUMB3RS" may soon be syndicated, which would be great. Rob Morrow (Dr. Fleischman in the long-lamented "Northern Exposure" series of long ago) stars; the show has an interesting premise, in that Crime is based on certain numerics, and that's interesting, in much the same way 'profiling' is an intriguing element of "Criminal Minds". Maybe one day we'll see a show titled "Criminal Numb3rs"? Why do I watch so much of this stuff? I do know I can't watch sitcoms anymore. They're all so shallow these days.
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However, all that's taken a back seat lately to this year's Olympic Games in Vancouver. And it's had an effect on me that's disquieting: I think I (almost) understand Hockey (a big step for me), and I found myself being absorbed by figure skating, which is really a stretch. But there's so much that's been going on: Bobsledding, skiing ,snowboarding, speed-skating (which I really enjoyed) and on and on. I did miss the Curling events, so that'll remain a great mystery to me until the next Winter Olympiad. But just now, I'm totally confused by an Olympic competition which just aired, featuring two teams of three skaters each skating in opposite directions (thankfully, on different tracks; imagine the collisions otherwise...). Overall, though, I've really enjoyed watching the Olympics, putting in at least 3 hours a night of watching everything; I'm probably gonna be going thru Olympic withdrawals symptoms once they're over. What am I gonna do? Let's just have the Olympics Every Day; that would be my solution. I feel like I've been entertained by The Entire World these last couple of weeks. It's been fun.
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When I've been bogged down by Olympic events I didn't understand, there was always Hockey on CNBC, so I was able to use that as a Default Channel if I was, say, getting lost in Too Much figure skating or left at the wayside by NBC's often-annoying Sports Portrayals of Olympic Athletes. One night I had to choose between Hockey on MSNBC and Figure Skating on NBC. Tough call; Hockey won out. That's kinda like having to choose between Martha Stewart and Soccer. Finally, Bob Costas' performance as an Olympic Program Host was rather off-putting somehow. It just seems like he wasn't into the Olympics; it was as if all he could do was to provide a sort-of 'link' between events. And Chris Collingwood, the football guy, doing Olympic Vignettes? Huh? WHAT???? Keep Chris on the NFL-type shows where he belongs, and for heavens' sake, move Bob Costas over to Baseball telecasts. From what I've read, baseball is his first (sports) love. Finally, you know a big event is Really Big when Google does something like this:...cool, huh?
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So, ending the Olympics this evening is the largely pomp-and-circumstance closing ceremony, in which Canada seemed to throw down the gauntlet to Russia, host of the next Winter Olympiad. The speaker said something about every young person all over the world having the right to compete. An important concept, especially since the Olympics is heading for the land that used to be behind the Iron Curtain, and in some ways, still might be. Remember when the Olympics were boycotted for political reasons a couple of decades ago? That was an absolute shame. Athletes caught in the government's firm grasp. That should Never Happen Again. And, how about this:, NEIL YOUNG singing "Long May You Run", a song he wrote back in the '70s. I'm still a bit leery at the prospects of the next Winter Olympiad being held there; one can only hope things turn out for the best. Long May You Run, Indeed. The ceremony isn't over yet, but for me, it is. How can anyone top Neil Young? It can't be done. Time to turn off the TV now.
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So what else is going on these days, now that the Olympics are over? Well, layoffs are gonna be happening soon, if not already, at the Oregonian, Oregon's largest newspaper, and at the Eugene Register-Guard, a really good newspaper that I read quite a lot. There's the big whirligig concerning Toy-ota cars, many of which have been re-called due to their propensity of accelerating without the foot being on the pedal. Wheee! Just think of it! Cars that can drive themselves! Now we're making progress, right? Ulp. And now the company's saying that "our newly installed improvements still have a good possibility of malfunctioning", so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Me, I drive a Dodge Intrepid. It did behave erratically a few years back; a sending unit deep in the bowels of the car malfunctioned, causing it to heave and slow down, jumping from one gear to the other at random; it felt like I shoulda been sitting on a bronco (no, not 'Ford' Bronco) instead of behind a wheel...whoa, boy. So I got that fixed. The Labor Bill for ripping the car apart, pulling out old sending unit, putting in new sending unit, and then putting car back together was immense. Ack.
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Finally, here's something that's not news at all...
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...it's been raining a lot on the Oregon Coast this winter.