Captain's Log: Panjshanbeh, Favardin 22, 1387- Yawm-al-khamis, Rabi-ath-Thani 3, 1429- Setting Orange, Discord 27, 3174- Thursday, April 10, 2008. (Veer-waar, Istijlal)
To update you on the protests in San Francisco, those tricky Olympic officials shortened the route and altered it to avoid any embarrassment. Then they loaded up the torch on a plane without displaying it to the public as if they were ashamed of it. What a sad story. A symbol of the one time the world comes together in a peaceful display of international competition shamefully removed from its route through the home of democracy afraid of the outburst of one of the voice of free speech. Sure, the people of San Francisco were free to protest, but the torch was shielded from their voices. There would be no pictures of the two together, no dramatic shots of the torch with an angry American, anti-Chinese, crowd in the background. What is important is that it's not the Olympics themselves that are being protested, it's the host country. Americans love the Olympics, especially the Summer Games, because we demonstrate how much better we are than everyone else. It's a chance for us to show the world that our athletes are superior, just as we believe our country to be. But, sometimes, there are things bigger than the opportunity to shine. It wasn't that long ago that we boycotted the Moscow games because at the time we were protesting the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. This time things are a little more complicated. China has done nothing of the same caliber. But that doesn't mean it's not worth boycotting. Do I want the games boycotted? I don't know. TV sucks in the Summertime. There's nothing on but baseball, golf, and NASCAR. But is watching the women's beach volleyball competition worth the message it sends to the world that America's stance on human rights is only applied to nations that do not have cheap products to offer us? Maybe I could sit on my couch and ogle the Dutch beach volleyball team as they frolic in the sand on my TV (made in China) in my loungewear (made in China) while I listen to my stereo (made in China) and then grab beers out of the fridge (made in China) and forget that behind the facade of the grand Olympic stage there are millions of Chinese people who have no face and who are more or less suffering an existence that we should be ashamed of supporting. But after a few beers and about the eighth time an ass cheek falls out, I'll probably forget that the games are even China or that the propaganda that NBC keeps showing about how rich and diverse the Chinese culture is just more of the same lie that I'm fed everyday about the state of the world and that it doesn't matter that some 14 year old is working 90 hours a week in a factory making Christmas decorations (which he/she can't even legally celebrate) because honestly it has nothing to do with the fact that women's beach volleyball is the second greatest spectator sport or that now I need another beer.
And what's up with these teenage girls beating the crap out of each other? When I was a teenager (OMG I'm sounding old) girls didn't fight. If they did, it was like once ever four years and it would be the biggest story around the playground for the next four years. Something is wrong with our country. When little girls are punching their friends in the face and videotaping it without remorse, there's something wrong. Screw this whole Olympic debacle, we have bigger fish to fry right here at home. Please someone explain this behavior to me. I beg you.
In 1606 the Charter of the Virginia Company of London was issued by King James I to establish settlements in North America. In 1790 the US Patent system was created. In 1815 Mt. Tambora erupted and killed 71,000 Indonesians. In 1856 Theta Chi was created at Norwich University. To celebrate, I propose a keg stand and some hazing. In 1858 the original Big Ben, which refers to the bell and not the tower apparently, was cast. In 1866 the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animas was founded in NYC. In 1874 the first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska. In 1912 the RMS Titanic left Southampton, England for its first and only voyage. In 1916 the PGA was created. Three years later Emilliano Zapata was shot and killed by Mexican government troops. In 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" was published. I enjoyed that book. In 1978 Volkswagen became the first foreign company to build cars in America. And in 1991 an Italian ferry collided with an oil tanker killing 140.
Happy Birthday: William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army; Joseph Pulitzer, who has a journalism award named after him; Paul Theroux, a good author; Steven Seagal; Brian Setzer; and Q-Tip, who has one of the coolest voices in hip-hop.
"I don't bother chasin' mice around. I strut throught the alley lookin' for a fight, howlin' to the moonlight on a hot summer's night..."
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