Should People Boycott Watching the 2014 Sochi Olympics?

Has there ever been any Olympics that has not had some sort of controversy surrounding it? From 2008 Beijing Games and China's human rights policies to the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan debacle, take a look at the lengthy list of scandals and controversies connected to the Olympics and you'll see that nearly every Olympic game has been surrounded by controversy and the 2014 Winter Olympics is no different.

The other day, a friend posted a question on Facebook, asking if people were boycotting the watching of the Olympics, due to Russia's stance on homosexuality.  The answers he received were on both side of the issue. Some people saying "yes" - equating the issue to Nazi Germany (which didn't make sense as the US did not boycott the 1936 Olympics - remember Jesse Owens?), while others saying "no" for a multitude of reasons. This question got me thinking about whether people should or should not boycott the Sochi Olympics.  

Let's start with why the Olympics were created. The Olympics were created in order for varying countries to get together every four years, put their differences aside, learn about other cultures, and to engage in friendly competition. The Olympic Charter reads: "The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity." Listen to any Olympian and they will all say the same thing: politics are put aside and it's about friendly (and occasionally not so friendly) competition. There have been countless stories of athletes who develop friendships and even romance with athletes from other countries while at the Olympic games. 

Therefore, should we allow a group of neanderthals who make up Russia's body politic to ruin this spectacular event because of their antiquated and hateful rhetoric about homosexuality and gay rights? Perhaps they should be reminded of what else the Olympic charter has to say on the subject: "The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play". Thank you, Google. (In case you missed the Google Doodle from yesterday, take a look at the rainbow Google Doodle which supports the athletes in Sochi.)

For Olympics fans like myself, the idea of not watching the Olympics is horrifying. I'm not saying I couldn't do it, but that being said, should we? Where does it get us by not viewing the Olympics? Does it send a message about Russia's intolerance? Maybe, but will that change Russia's stance on homosexuality? Probably not. Truly, the only ones who are hurt by Americans not watching the Olympics are: the American broadcaster for the games (NBC), the sponsors (like Coca-Cola, Visa, and McDonald's), and the IOC. Putin and his cronies don't care if we tune in to watch snowboarding on our flatscreens. Plus there is the added issue that there are fellow Americans in Sochi who have worked for years, decades even, to get to the Olympics; some of whom I am sure are gays and lesbians. By not watching their efforts and supporting them while in Sochi, what does that say about us as Americans? If you truly want to show your distaste toward Russia's discrimination policies, don't purchase or use any Russian products - which pretty much amounts to not buying or consuming Stolichnaya Vodka and caviar. I can certainly do that!

I submit that while I wholeheartedly disagree with and condemn the position of Russia's politicians on gays and lesbians, we should not boycott the watching of the games. Not just because I'm the biggest Olympics nerd and watch the coverage obsessively, but because the Olympics are a soaring tribute to the nobility of the human spirit.

So, if you'll excuse me, I've got some television to watch!

Snowboarder and Olympian Shaun White

Best Blogs of 2013!

Every year, Time Magazine lists the 25 best blogs of the year. In December 2012, I happened to stumble over their list for 2012 and then posted what I thought were the best of the best blogs of 2012. Today, I searched for Time's list of the best blogs of 2013 and found some new and fascinating sites. As Time says, "pundits have been knowingly declaring that blogging is dead, rendered irrelevant by alternative means of personal publishing such as Facebook and Twitter," but judging by Time's list, blogging is anything but dead. Whew! That makes me happy because not only do I enjoy writing a blog, I really like reading other blogs. 

Out of Time's list of 25, I narrowed it down to my favorite 4:

1. Beer Labels in Motion: This blog features a bevy of craft beer recommendations by blogger Trevor Carmick, but he adds a little more excitement to the recommendations by creating animated gifs of the beer labels. It's very fun and clever. This is a must read for any beer aficionado but even a teetotaler can find enjoyment in his site. One of my favorite gifs features two owls toasting each other. Of course, two pigs belly slapping is pretty amazing too.
2. Elemental: Perhaps a blog about poisons isn't usual, but this slightly macabre blog is fascinating.  Pulitzer-Prize winning science writer Deborah Blum writes mostly about poisons and the poisoners in a witty and engaging way. She recently posited that perhaps Yasser Arafat was poisoned and list of the dumbest poisoners.
3. What My Daughter Wore: Brooklyn artist, Jenny Williams takes a different approach than the usual fashion blogs. She playful sketches "the sartorial choices of my daughter, her brothers, and their friends." Ms. Williams has been posting sketches since 2011, therefore the sketches go deeper than just about her daughter's sense of fashion. As Time noted: "...the colorful drawings also tap into the depth of feelings - whether they are mischievous, charmed or tortured - that come with the onset of teenage years." 
4. World War II Today: There are so many people who have an interest in World War II, but one blogger (Martin Cherrett) took his fascination to a whole new level with his blog. This blog is a daily accounting of what happened during the war - 70 years later. He's been "following" the war for 5 years (since 2008) and should have enough material to cover a couple of more years before he runs out of material.  If you are interested in delving deep into World War II, this site is a  must read.

There are 21 more blogs on the list which run through a variety of subjects from boxing to tech advice to the minutiae of movies and television. Therefore, there's a little something for everyone.

What My Daughter
Wore

Music Doesn't Lie - Part 28 (Say Something)

"Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world,
then it can only happen through music." – Jimi Hendrix

It's been well over a year since I discovered a new (at least to me) musician/group that I could feature in my Music Doesn't Lie series, but today, while hanging out on the couch watching great big gobs of white crap fall from the sky, I came across A Great Big World. Formed in 2002 by singers/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino, A Great Big World is an American musical group from New York. This group has been featured on shows that I don't watch (i.e., Glee, One Tree Hill, The Amazing Race, etc.), which is why I had never heard of them before today.  A friend posted on Facebook the lyrics to "Say Something" and I liked the lyrics enough to check out the song. Bam! I found a new group that I adore.

Yes, this group is in the pop/rock genre, which is one of my favorite genres. If you're not into pop/rock, this album probably won't speak to you. But I just loved every song on their debut album Is There Anyone Out There?, which was released on January 21, 2014. I am looking forward to hearing more from this talented duo.

Picking my favorite song from this album is very difficult. There are just so many great songs. There's  "Everyone Is Gay" which made me laugh out loud when I first heard it. "Rockstar" and "Land of Opportunity" have a great beat and wonderful lyrics. "Land of Opportunity" is particularly interesting with moving lyrics about the sadness of a lost love which contradicts the pop sound of the music. "Already Home", "Say Something", and "I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else" are beautiful ballads and have already been added to my catharsis playlist (which has been severely updated in the past week). For me, 13 songs and 13 hits on a debut album is pretty significant! 

Which to feature??? Tough one, but I'm going to go with "Say Something" (lyrics), which eked out "I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else" (lyrics) by an extremely narrow margin.  There are two versions of "Say Something" - one with just the band and one that has the addition of Christina Aguilera. I am not a Christina Aguilera fan at all, but the addition of her harmonies to the original song just makes it that much more special. (It should be noted that I find it hard to watch Christina in the video (below) because she does some weird things with her body, but the song is to die for.)

20 Interesting Science Facts!

I have said it before: I'm a HUGE nerd. I love science and all the weirdness that goes with it. I came across some really strange and fascinating science facts that I just find amazing.  Enjoy!

1. There are 62,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body – laid end to end they would circle the earth 2.5 times.
2. At over 2000 kilometers long, The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.
3. The risk of being struck by a falling meteorite for a human is one occurrence every 9,300 years.
4. A thimbleful of a neutron star would weigh over 100 million tons.
5. A typical hurricane produces the energy equivalent of 8,000 one megaton bombs.
6. Blood sucking hookworms inhabit 700 million people worldwide.  [Eeeeuuuuwwww!!]
7. The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 166.94 mph by Fred Rompelberg, in 1995.
8. If you eat a polar bear liver, you will die. Humans can't handle that much vitamin A.
9. The male giraffe will continuously headbutt the female in the bladder until she urinates. The male then tastes the pee and that helps it determine whether the female is ovulating. If she is, it's nookie time.
10. The combined length of the roots of a Finnish pine tree is over 30 miles.
11. The oceans contain enough salt to cover all the continents to a depth of nearly 500 feet.
12. The interstellar gas cloud Sagittarius B contains a billion, billion, billion liters of alcohol. [That would be one hell of  a party place.]
13. Polar Bears can run at 25 miles an hour and jump over 6 feet in the air.
14. 60-65 million years ago dolphins and humans shared a common ancestor.
15. Polar Bears are nearly undetectable by infrared cameras, due to their transparent fur.
16. The average person accidentally eats 430 bugs each year of their life.  [Protein!]
17. A single rye plant can spread up to 400 miles of roots underground.
18. The temperature on the surface of Mercury exceeds 430 degrees C during the day, and, at night, plummets to minus 180 degrees centigrade.
19. It would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking once, to completely drain the average human of blood.
20. Honey does not spoil.  You could feasibly eat 3000 year old honey.  [But would you want to?]

Science is cool!

The Year of the Horse!

The 15-day celebration of Chinese new year started this past Friday (on the first new moon of the calendar year). Friday marked the end of the year of the water snake and welcomes the start of the year of the wooden horse. To bring you luck this new year, I've listed eight (a lucky number in China) things you possibly didn't know about the Chinese zodiac and the year ahead.

1. The Chinese zodiac – or Shēngxiào – is a calendar system originating in the Han dynasty (206-220BC), which names each of the years in its 12-year cycle after an animal: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, in that order. According to the system, the universe is made up of five elements – earth, water, fire, wood and metal – which interact with the 12 animals, resulting in the specific character of the year ahead.
2. People born in the year of the horse (1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014) are said to be a bit like horses: animated, active and energetic – they love being in a crowd. They are quick to learn independence – foals can walk minutes after birth – and they have a straightforward and positive attitude towards life. They are known for their communication skills and are exceedingly witty.
3. If none of this rings true, don't worry. The animal signs of each year merely indicate how others see you or how you choose to present yourself. There are also animal signs for each month, known as inner animals, signs for each day, called true animals, and animals for each hour, or secret animals.
4. If you were born in the year of the horse, you should be looking for potential partners who were born in the years of the tiger, goat or dog. Avoid those born in the year of the rat, ox, rabbit or horse. [I don't quite buy into this advice. Some of my best friends have been people that I'm "incompatible" with in the Chinese zodiac.]
5. According to superstition, in your zodiac year you will offend Tai Sui, the god of age, and will experience bad luck for the whole year. To avoid this you should wear something red, which has been given to you by someone else. In general, the lucky colors of team horse are are green, red and purple; the lucky numbers are three, four and nine, and the lucky flowers are giant taro and jasmine.
6. Raymond Lo, a feng shui and destiny consultant, says the year of the horse is a year in which people are likely to stand firm on their principles and values. "So it is hard to negotiate or compromise as there are more tendencies for people to fight for their ideals," says Lo.
7. When it comes to love life, the year of the wooden horse is not quite lucky. Marriages are not ideal this year; so those who are engaged would want to postpone their weddings to the next year, according to Paul Ng, a professional feng shui master.
8. Years of the wooden horse are associated with warfare. The battle of Dien Bien Phu, which ended with the defeat of France by the Vietnamese, happened in 1954 and 1894 saw the start of the first Sino-Japanese war. "With such serious conflicts on historical record in the previous two yang wood horse years, I cannot rule out the possibility of war and fierce battle in 2014," predicts Lo.

Mǎ nián dàjí!  [Translation: Best wishes for the Year of the Horse]

P.S. Did I mention that I was born in the year of the horse?  As I have nothing red that was given to me by a friend, I am left unprotected from Tai Sui's vengeance.  I'm am screwed!

Lists, Lists, and More Lists!

Are you a "lists" person??  Goodness knows I am. If I don't make a list of what I need to do or buy or need or want, I am sure to forget something. Therefore, I am constantly making lists - all sorts - probably too many. In fact, I need to make a list of all of my lists.

In June 2012, I discovered the blog, Letters of Note, a website that collects correspondence that they find fascinating. I'm so enamored of this blog that I've written about it three different times (A Passion for Correspondence, "To My Old Master", and Quite Possibly, The Best Response Letter...Ever!). I was checking out the latest postings today and instead saw their announcement of a sister website, Lists of Note. The Lists of Notes website is about ... well, lists. Be still my beating heart! The blogger writes: "Lists are created for all manner of reasons, and have been for many centuries. It's my aim to feature some of the most notable examples right here."

In perusing through the notable lists, I came across several interesting lists. For example, a memo by David Ogilvy, founder of the advertising company of Ogilvy and Mather, entitled "How to Write" - great advice! A to-do list written by Johnny Cash, which includes the reminder to 'pee'. Really? You need that reminder? How about William Safire's contradictory rules of writing "Fumblerules of Grammar" - HILARIOUS!!! I'd print Safire's list to give to my students, but I don't think they'd get the humor.

One of my favorite lists was written by the late, great Nora Ephron, who passed away in June 2012, after a 6 year battle with leukemia. Ms. Eprhon was one talented playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director- being the genius behind some of my favorite movies; movies like Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail - just to name a few. Lists of Note posted the list she wrote of the things that she'll miss and not miss, which I've reprinted below:

What I Won't Miss

Dry skin
Bad dinners like the one we went to last night
E-mail
Technology in general
My closet
Washing my hair
Bras
Funerals
Illness everywhere
Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism
Polls
Fox TV
The collapse of the dollar
Bar mitzvahs
Mammograms
Dead flowers
The sound of the vacuum cleaner
Bills
E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.
Small print
Panels on Women in Film
Taking off makeup every night

What I Will Miss

My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie

Looking at Ms. Ephron's list, I think that she and I would have gotten on quite well. I love this list so much that I have decided that I'm going to start composing my own list of what I will and won't miss about this life. Check out Lists of Note. It's a really interesting website.

RIP, Nora. You are missed!

10 Interesting Facts About Women

People are fascinating. But some of us are more fascinating than others. I stumbled upon a rather lengthy list of interesting facts about women and decided that I would post what I thought were the top 10. Enjoy!

1. A Russian woman holds the record for most children birthed. She gave birth to a total of 69 children: 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765; a total of 27 births. 67 of the 69 children born were said to have survived infancy. YOWCH!  (On a side note, the woman was the first wife of a Russian peasant, Feodor Vassilyev.  His second wife gave birth to 18 children, which gives Vassilyev a grand total of 87 children. Dude, get a hobby!!)
2. A Duke University study says that women wake up far more grumpier than men. It also says that women need much more sleep than men and can have problems such as heart disease and psychological issues from not getting the adequate amount of sleep needed. There may be something to this - I don't even like talking to my cat in the morning.
3. International Women’s Day is recognized on March 8th each year. Some countries even recognize it as an official holiday. Sadly, the US is not one of those countries!
4. Although highly unlikely to succeed in a Sharia court, in Saudi Arabia an old law still in effect says that if a husband doesn’t give his wife coffee that the woman can divorce him. Perhaps that's something that those child brides can use to get out of forced marriages.
5. In 1945, there was a 25-year old woman who was pregnant for 375 days and is recorded as the longest human pregnancy ever. The average woman is pregnant for a "mere" 280 days. I suppose it could be worse - an elephant's gestation period is 675 days.
6. Originally, the differentiation between women at different ages was done in the English language with the help of the terms maiden, mother, and crone. The maiden was the young girl who wasn’t married yet. The mother was the female in the years where she could bear children. The crone was the woman in the post-menopause period. I am officially a crone! Not sure how I feel about that.
7. In the August 2013 journal Science, a DNA analysis reports that the the origin of the first woman and man can be traced back to 1 woman and 1 man that lived on earth about 135,000 years ago. Hmmmm, I never bought into the Adam and Eve story, but...
8. Woman swallows a $5000 diamond! During an April 2013 charity event in Florida, 400 glasses were filled with champagne. 399 of the flutes contained a $10 cubic zirconia stone while 1 glass had a one carat diamond stone, which came up missing. Turns out an 80 year old woman accidentally swallowed it and although embarrassed she eventually told the event makers she had swallowed it while talking and laughing with other women at the table. The diamond was recovered by colonoscopy 2 days later. Post extraction, the woman took the diamond to be cleaned and planned to give it to her granddaughter.  Gee, thanks, Grams!
9. According to recent census data in March 2013, about 6% of U.S families in 1976 had a woman as the sole income provider. That same census shows that 23% of U.S households today have a woman as the sole income provider. Progress?
10. Cleopatra had 2 younger brothers and she married them both. It's also notable that Cleopatra first married at age 11 to one of the brothers. Gross!

I had fun finding all these interesting facts and fully plan on doing more postings of these fun and strange factoids!