Olympic pride: Thank you, Kobe, and Michael

Crossposted at http://faustasblog.com, where this blog is now

With the exception of the men's swimming relay (for which I stayed up last night in spite of not getting much sleep the night before), I haven't been watching the Olympics, so I missed this:

Kobe Bryant Schools Liberal NBC Announcer On Patriotism (my bold print)

Chris Collinsworth: Tell the story when you first got your USA uniform.

Kobe Bryant: Well I had goosebumps and I actually just looked at it for awhile. I just held it there and I laid it across my bed and I just stared at it for a few minutes; just because as a kid growing up this is the ultimate, ultimate in basketball.

Collinsworth: Where does the patriotism come from inside of you? Historically, what is it?

Kobe: Well, you know it’s just our country, it’s... we believe is the greatest country in the world. It has given us so many great opportunities, and it’s just a sense of pride that you have; that you say "You know what? Our country is the best!"

Collinsworth: Is that a ‘cool’ thing to say, in this day and age? That you love your country, and that you’re fighting for the red, white and blue? It seems sort of like a day gone by(?)

Kobe: No, it’s a cool thing for me to say. I feel great about it, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I mean, this is a tremendous honor.

Video at Ms Underestimated has the video, which is also on YouTube, editorial bubbles and all:



However, Q&O sees Collingworth's differently,

To me it seemed like Collinsworth was simply trying to set Kobe up to say how awesome patriotism is, and how much he loves America. If you've watched any Olympics coverage ever, then this is exactly the kind of saccharine backstory pablum fed to the viewers, regardless of who the interviewer is, or which network is providing the coverage. It's a part of the basic formula: controversy, hard luck, sick/dead relative, USA! USA! USA! So I don't think the question was Collinsworth's opinion, but instead a softball for Kobe to tee off on.

Either way, thank you Kobe.

And Chris.
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The WSJ has a terrific slideshow of Michael Phelps winning his 8th gold medal.

All of us middle aged and older remember being excited when Mark Spitz won his seven golds.
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This week's WSJ's Five Best books on historical conquest, selected by David Day:

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This week's shoes:
Merrell Encore

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Playing golf 'adds five years to your life', says the Telegraph, but tango's more fun

Via Don Surber, Playing golf 'adds five years to your life': The Swedes say so,

But golf could have greater health benefits than walking and even more strenuous forms of exercise, according to research in Sweden which shows that playing the game adds an average of five years to your life.

The study's authors, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, calculate that this adds an extra five years on to the average player's lifespan.

How is that, pray tell?

"A round of golf means being outside for four or five hours, walking at a fast pace for six to seven kilometres, something which is good for the health," he said.

Walking?



What do you mean, walking?

Prof. Ahlbom continues,

Prof Ahlbom said that other factors outside the golf course, such as the fact that people who enjoy sport also generally lead a healthier lifestyle,

I'm all for drinks at the clubhouse and walking instead of taking the golf cart, but it's not looking like my lifespan will extend for 5 more years, because

The lowest death rates were found among players with the lowest handicaps.

Alas, my handicao is in the low four figures. Tell Tiger Woods that for my funeral I want everyone to go for drinks and dinner at Triumph.

Tango, however, has significant health benefits:

According to a study conducted by the Society for Neuroscience, challenging leisure activities such as dancing not only keep the aging body in shape, they also help to sharpen the aging brain by requiring memorization of dance steps and sequences which boost brain power and improve memory skills.

The New England Journal of Medicine found that ballroom dancing at least twice a week made people less likely to develop dementia while some people with Alzheimer's disease were able to recall forgotten memories when they danced to familiar music.

Better yet:

"Tango is a culture. It's a kind of healing. It's for people who have forgotten how to touch, how to look into each others eyes, how to respect a woman and how to respect it when a man leads. It's a lifestyle basically," she said, echoing the sentiments of others.

And there's also the shoes...



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Good news from Brazil: S&P's rates it "Investment grade'

Bovespa Rises to Record After Investment Grade Rating:

Brazil's Bovespa stock index jumped to a record after Standard & Poor's unexpectedly raised the country's credit rating to investment grade.
...
Brazil's rating was lifted to BBB-, Standard & Poor's lowest investment grade rating, the rating company said today.

S&P cited the country's "continuity" in maintaining its inflation targeting policy and government debt levels "increasingly in line" with investment grade countries.

Brazil became a net foreign creditor for the first time this year, inflation dropped to a seven-month low in February and the benchmark interest rate was at a record low 11.25 percent before this month's increase. The country's economy probably grew at a 4.8 percent rate last year, the fastest since 2004, according to the median economist estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Things are looking up.

The big news in Brazil, however, is that soccer star Renaldo got caught with three transvestite prostitutes because of "psychological problems due to his knee injury."

When it comes to excuses, that's a new one.



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Boliburguesia in action, and other items

Patria, Vuitton o Muerte! Gastaremos!*
Via Pat, the uniform of the Boliburguesia: Gucci shoes, Vuitton necktie, as worn by the Venezuelan Interior Minister

As they used to say in the old Bally ads, "There's dressed, and there's well dressed."

* Motherland, Vuitton or death, we shall spend!
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Sean's working for Fred, and wrote the Fred Thompson Campaign Apologies
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My friend Neo posts, Say it isn't so, Roger: steroids and baseball

Rick Moran finds No joy in Mudville
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Jeremayakovka and Matt Sanchez are writing a book. I hope they come to my podcast when it's published.

Right Wing News interviewed Matt - you can read it here.
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Via Carla,

Sarko meets Gaddafi

The Tour de France was the big news yesterday in France, for good reason: ETA detonated two small explosive devices (the article didn't specify what kind of devices), and Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen of Denmark was removed from the race and fired from his team after winning the 16th stage yesterday. Since the Tour ends on Sunday, this was way more than the usual excitement, particularly since this morning the Tour resumed with no-one wearing the yellow jersey.

But for the news addict like myself, there was another item of interest. Sarko's on a tour of Africa and dropped by Muammar Gaddafi's.

Always the fashion plate, Gaddafi wore a white suit with the emblem of African unity prominently pinned over his heart, black shirt and a wide (silk chiffon, maybe?) sash. Sarko looked appropriately French in traditional business garb. The day before yesterday Sarko was in Liberia, were he was warmly welcomed. Today Sarko's in Senegal, where he probably will have to work a little harder.

As it turns out, the Libya meeting took place a day after Libya released the six Bulgarian medics who had been convicted of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV. The medics had confessed under torture and had been sentenced to death. According to the BBC,

The medics' release was made possible by a deal struck in Tripoli on improving Libya-EU ties, following years of negotiations.

Not one to let a good opportunity go to waste, Sarko - whose trip was strategically timed - showed up, and the Guardian has the headline:
Sarkozy flies to Libya to reap rewards of medics' release

Mr Sarkozy ignored criticism that he and his wife Cecilia had been grandstanding by intervening at the end of the eight-year crisis when the hard work had been done by the European commission and other EU governments. Mrs Sarkozy joined in negotiations and then flew to Sofia with the freed medics.

Sarko and Gaddafi/Gadafy also agreed to work on a nuclear energy project that will turn sea water into clean drinking water.

Shall we drink to that?

Update, Friday 27 July
Nidra Poller examines the reaction in France.
Update, Sunday 29 July
Pinky and the Brain!

Wimbledon, or Live Earth?

Updated
Right now I'm here at casa de Fausta looking at the TV in the kitchen. Two things are on:
Venus Williams and Marion Bartoli are slugging it out on the court. Great match.
Some girls in tight clothes with thin voices are singing on Live Earth in front of a Definitely.NOT,Carbon.Neutral wall of lightbulbs.

On the one hand, a really good tennis match. On the other hand, a vacuous exhibition of symbolic tokenistic behavior.

You know what I'm watching.

But fret not, Tim Blair and Mark Steyn are covering LE for you.

I'll be enjoying the beautiful Summer day after the game is over - have a wonderful day!

Update, Tuesday 10 July:
Via The Corner, we might have a consensue

The BBC blamed the poor figures on Saturday's good weather and said its Wimbledon tennis coverage had drawn away afternoon viewers.

You heard it here first.

The case of the cricket coach, and today's items

The cricket coach was strangled.
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Liberals Relent on Iraq War Funding because of course they support the troops...
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Jay sent a video of the Cuban Ladies In White (wmv file)

Friday fast for all political prisoners and the Ladies In White.
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Read Stefania Lapenna's article on The Human Cost of Iran's Islamist Rule
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Rob Bluey sent a video on Showdown Over U.S. Attorneys:

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Two from Maria:
Dr Sowell writes about Our greedy government
Al's warming lies and the real "inconvenient truth"

If you establish that the Earth is warming, it doesn't necessarily follow that we have a moral duty to reduce emissions. What should follow is an informed debate about the costs and benefits of various policies to address that warming - reducing emissions is just one possible answer. Another debate should focus on those policies' economic costs.

Al Gore doesn't want to have those debates, because the majority of evidence suggests that emissions reduction will be very costly and will have little effect. Kyoto, fully enacted by all its parties, would for all its cost reduce global warming by a mere 0.07 degrees Celsius by 2050 - a barely detectable amount.

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In a lighter mode,
The reason I coudln't wait to buy a house was because I had neighbors like Darren's.

Those uncomfortable cheerleaders

Last night before dinner The Husband (TH) was cooking something in the pressure cooker and sipping on a beer when I (F) said,

F: Did you hear that Russell Crowe says that the rugby team he owns in Sydney quote "has discarded its cheerleaders" unquote this season because they made male fans feel uncomfortable? (h/t PC Watch)

TH: Uncomfortable?
(takes a sip from his beer, looks at cheeleader photo, smiles, has more beer)
More like they made the male fans' wives uncomfortable.
F (reading from the article): "The Hollywood star also said his wife, Danielle Spencer, supported the club's controversial move".
TH: I knew it.
F: They're replacing the cheerleaders with some sort of marching band. "The whole idea of percussion will be exciting for the crowd".
TH: Well, the Rockettes do great percussion. I wonder if they travel.

(Rockette trivia for you guys: Back in the 1970s the height limit was 5'9". Now it's 5'10 1/2".)
(TH likes the Rockette picture, even when "it's not as good as a whole row of them")

I want Beckham's agent

Now, I don't know a thing about sports. And I certainly don't know anything at all about football or soccer. So I'm completely amazed that a guy who wasn't scoring in his last team has just signed a contract for a quarter of a billion bucks. What's even more amazing is that the guy is referred to as a sex symbol. I kid you not. The TV anchors say, "the superstar and sex symbol" - I just heard one right now.

A sex symbol? He spends more on manicures than I - and I go for a manicure every week!

So it seems to me that the lesson in this is, have a really really good agent.

This weekend, however, my mind is focused on one thing and one thing only - you guessed it. I was visiting Obi's Sister who's anticipating Jack Bauer's return, and, as she puts it,

Even the obscene amount of money offered to pseudo-royal Beckham cannot tarnish my anticipation. After all, if Jack really wanted Beck's money, all he'd have to do is show up and take it. Like candy from a baby. And he wouldn't even need a hacksaw.

And I bet Sir Becks doesn't even own a pair of Jack Bauer pajamas

Did she say, Sir Becks? He was knighted?

Get me that agent - I want to be a Dame!

Here's a quick 24 round-up:
24 facts about '24'

James Cromwell will appear on season six as Jack Bauer's father. Sorry, Donald. Guess you weren't believable enough to play Jack's dad.

James Cromwell?
24 forum
Stephen King says, '24': So Good It's Scary
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NY Times delivery update:
For the first time since I started assertively asking (i.e., stopped paying) the NYT to discontinue weekend delivery, the paper was not on the driveway this morning. Did they finally stop? The real test comes tomorrow. One time they didn't deliver early on Saturday but they delivered it later. If it's not on the driveay by then, it must mean they stopped.
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Via Pamela, not a sex symbol but a very sexy performer: Charles Aznavour. Some day I'll post about the time I saw him on stage, but for now, hear him sing She

What a fabulous guy.