Because It's SO IMPORTANT

(That's why I'm writing about it.)

So, the guy (David Ferrer, whose name was new to me today-- because that's how much I care about tennis) who "lobbed" the tennis ball into the stands in the general direction of a baby who'd been crying and (I guess) disturbing his concentration...

Point 1: 
Who brings a baby to a big sporting event?  (Honestly, though, who brings a baby to even a high school sporting event, if they can possibly avoid it?)  Maybe I'm stupid and everyone does that all the time... but it does seem a little rude.  If I pay good money for a seat and someone's baby is crying right next to me, I have to admit that it gets on my nerves.  (It also annoys me when the woman behind me on an airplane coughs onto the back of my head.  So don't do that anymore, lady.  Seriously.  Just put your hand over your mouth, next time.  It's not that hard.) 

Point 2:
Yeah, the player shouldn't have done that.  I wonder if he was penalized in any way.  (You'd think that would be against the rules...) 

Point 3: 
Oh, please.  Are you telling me that you require absolute silence to play your silly little game?  Why are tennis and golf players so precious, yet in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and so many other sports, the players somehow manage to function amid thunderous cheering, boos, and general noise?  It took those nightmarish vuvuzela things to faze soccer players, for instance.  But apparently tennis is a matter of life or death.  "Ladies and gentlemen, the tennis player will now attempt to hit the ball with the racket.  This is very dangerous and requires intense concentration. We ask that you remain silent..."  

...And then when most of them hit the ball they shriek, groan, and grunt in ways that must be calculated to distract the opponent (not to mention embarrass the more prudish members of the audience).

...For someone who never watches tennis, I still managed to work up a nice rant.  It's one of my special gifts.  ;o)  Anyone wanna trade?

2012 Olympic Logo

"Iran objects to the logo for the 2012 London Olympics."

I can see how someone might object to the logo on the grounds that it is fairly uninspiring (some might even say heinous), design-wise*... but I think you have to go out of your way to see what they see in it.

And honestly, does anyone except for the Iranians themselves really care whether they compete in any given Olympic games?  Actually... I don't care if any country wants to boycott them.  Boycott away!

*It goes nicely with the weird mascots!

Truth, Stranger Than Fiction

Ballet Ski:
A short-lived Olympic event that I might not have believed existed, were it not for video such as this:



I was old enough to remember this, but I don't. Donald told me about it and found the video.

This feels like something you'd see on Monty Python, shake your head over, and wonder where those crazy guys came up with such bizarre ideas.  

Videos, Music, Sports, & Saplings

Do not adjust your monitors. ;o) Or in other words, yes, I changed the background color. I was getting tired of acid green. Time for a soothing pale blue! I've also adjusted a few other little things in the setup of this blog. For instance, there's now a Vimeo widget in the sidebar, so that you can see at a glance if I've put up any new videos (on Vimeo, at least).

And as a matter of fact. . .

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I've put a few more new videos on Vimeo. (g)

One is a short clip Donald filmed at the frozen lake at Glaskogen (Sweden). I realized I hadn't included any close-ups of how that ice looked, and I thought it was pretty enough that it required sharing.

One is just a (probably boring) experiment with saturation-- nothing but pine trees and a sky full of windy clouds.

Then there's another quick one of Trixie. (Yes, I know. I'm now undeniably one of those people who inflict upon others their endless videos of vacations and pets. It can't be helped. At least you don't have to watch them, since I'll never know if you did or not. (g))

This is an older piece of film-- before Donald's trip, I think, and definitely before the rubber chicken toy lost its head:


Slo-Mo Trixie from Michael Johansson on Vimeo.

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I mentioned, an entry or two ago, being disappointed by the unavailability of certain soundtracks. Well, this isn't quite as good as a soundtrack on CD (mainly because the conversations and sound effects are still present and can be distracting), but if you're desperate to have the music from North & South to listen to, try this site. A word of warning to those who haven't seen the program (or read the book)-- listening to these tracks (or, indeed, even reading their titles) might give away some of the storyline. (I used tiny, dialogue-free snippets from the soundtrack in the two non-Trixie videos I linked to above.)

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An entry on a blog I read linked back to some previous blog entries and a number of heated comments-- all related to the fact that a Swedish wrestler threw down his bronze medal during an Olympic award ceremony. (Actually, from what I recall, he went and set it down rather carefully on the floor. I don't remember any violent hurling. (g)) Some people feel it was a display of righteous indignation after an obviously unfair call by a corrupt system of judging. Others think that he should have respected the dignity of the occasion and saved his protests for later. Then there are those, like myself, who are amazed that enough people care about wrestling for there to be a corrupt system of judges. (Admittedly, I'm not a particularly sporty gal-- Don't fall out of your seat in shock, now! ;o)-- but of all sports, wrestling seems just about the least appealing to watch or participate in. Yuck.) More proof that no matter what hobby or interest you take up, if you're there long enough-- if you look deeply enough-- you'll find people who take things way too far. Passion, you say? Passion schmassion! In all things, moderation! ;o)

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This morning, Mom and I went to a local Arbor Day event and picked up a variety of free saplings. Now to decide where ours should go. . .

This Holiday Weekend

It's hard for me to remember, sometimes, that this isn't a holiday week for some readers.
Here's what we've been up to:

Wednesday was Donald's 36th birthday. It was a regular workday, but we still managed to find some time in the morning and evening for fun, and he got to talk to both his parents and his brother on the computer. (If you'd like to talk to people for free over the Internet, do check out Skype. The sound quality is impressive-- better than through a telephone, I think.)

Wednesday afternoon, my parents were out in the clearing burning a pile of brush while Grandpa L. continued discing (disking?) nearby. We went out and spoke with them for a while (and helped gather a few more things to throw on the fire). It looks like they're going to move forward with their house plans, so there should be some interesting changes in the local landscape, soon.

Thursday was (of course) Thanksgiving, which we spent with my father's side of the family. All the aunts, uncles and cousins were in attendance, including those who live in Georgia. They brought their bulldog ("Gertie", if I'm spelling it correctly) down with them, and she provided the entertainment once the kids (my two young cousins) had gone to visit their other grandmother.

Friday, we did our Day-After-Thanksgiving shopping from home, which in some ways has been nice, but in other ways, it's been less than ideal. Also, though it seems like it ought to be better, not having to get up early, stand in long lines, deal with traffic and possibly be jostled by complete strangers, that's all part of the experience, and without it things just don't feel as much like the kick-off of the holiday season.

The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional day for many (most?) people in the U.S. to put up/decorate the Christmas tree, but as I wrote in the previous entry, I'm thinking of putting that off for another day or two. No sense doing it when I'm not in the mood to enjoy it, right?

In Donald's family, as in most Swedish families, they don't decorate the tree until Christmas Eve morning, but they then leave it there until January 13th. (I think. . .) That's definitely a difference in our traditions! I think Mom was always eager to get the Christmas tree down soon after Christmas day. . .

This afternoon, we went to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jim's Iron Bowl party. While most of the others watched the game, Carrie, Kimberly, Donald and I played card games. It was nice to see everyone, and fortunately, the "right" team won, so everyone who actually cared about it was happy and easier to live with than if they'd lost. ;o)

The downside: There was a group photo, and when I saw it later that night (at home), I was less than pleased with my part of it. Gross. I don't really look like that, do I? (Please lie to me, if necessary. Otherwise, I may well cry.) Seriously, I don't look that bad in the mirror. . . I know that if I lose some weight I'll be somewhat more photogenic, but in the meantime, I'd much rather be behind the camera than in front of it.

Okay. I know I'm not completely unattractive. There are probably even people who'd happily trade bodies/general physical condition with me. That said, I'm still feeling fairly depressed about this, and I'm not looking forward to being forced into family photos this Christmas. I certainly won't be printing them up for display in my own house.

Anyway. Putting vanity aside.

All in all, a nice holiday weekend, despite unflattering photos and rain. And I definitely have a lot to be thankful for, even if I do look chubby in photographs. I should be thankful to live in such a land of plenty that chubbiness is the problem instead of not having enough to eat-- and I am thankful for that, among so many, many other things. It's good to be reminded to take the time to remember all those blessings. . .

Take5 Tuesday

Prompt from Take5 Tuesday:

1. 5 things you like about spring.

• The first days of warm sunshine. (It's one of the few times of the year when I actually enjoy sunshine, because it's not yet too hot.)
  
• The smell of freshly cut grass and honeysuckle.
• Feeling excited (for a few weeks, maybe?) about the yard. (This is when I make big plans that I later fail to carry through to completion. ;o))
• Gentle springtime breezes.
• Birds building nests all over the place (even on our back porch).
  

2. 5 things you plan to do this summer.

• Work on at least a couple of yard projects. (Pump house, patio, maybe more. . .)
• Keep alive the tomato plants we've purchased. (I hope!)
• Keep an eye open for an ad for Eskie puppies. (There aren't many available, but I'd really love to have another Eskie, one of these days.)
• Do a better job than last year at keeping the yard in order.
• Avoid snakes.
  

3. 5 of your favorite sports to play.
Ha ha ha. You're joking, right? I'm not that sporty.

• Badminton
  
• Bowling (It's been a while. . .)
  
• Bocce (Just the two of us, around the yard-- nothing fancy.)
  
• Volleyball? (It's been so many years, though!)
• Softball (Again, years and years and years!)
  

4. 5 board games you like to play, (or played as a kid.)
I don't play that many board games these days. Not because I don't like to, but because most of the time it's just the two of us, and there aren't many board games (that we like) that work with two people. We need to invite some people over to play board games, sometime. . .

• Scrabble (We do play this one fairly often. Neither of us are champion level, but it's nice for a change from the other games we play.)
  
• Trivial Pursuit (Another one the just the two of us can play.)
  
• Clue (I used to play this a lot as a kid.)
• Pay Day (Same as above. . .)
• Parcheesi (Just to name one more-- we had a lot of games I liked just about as much as this one. I think I like Pit better, but I don't think of that as a board game. . .)

5. 5 sites you visited today.

• Flickr (More specifically, I visited my "home" on the site, with recent photos from my contacts, recent activity on my own photos, etc.)
  
• Google Reader (which helps me keep track of blogs I read)
• Blogger (this blog and my clay blog)
• Google (Almost every search starts with the little Google search bar built into my browser. I end up here several times a day, usually.)
• The Daily Meme's list of Tuesday memes (where I found this one)