Olympic Games Day 4

Watching Archery and Fencing's Men's Foil this morning.

Olympic Games Day 3

Fencing and Equestrian for me this morning.


3:45 PM: Spent the afternoon watching the Fencing's Women's Individual Epee. What a ride.

Let The Olympic Games Begin!

Aggggh! What the hell are those things, cousins of the Teletubbies? Nope, they are the mascots for the 2012 Olympic and  Paralympic Games. Their names are Wenlock and Mandeville. Wenlock is named after the English town of Much Wenlock which held its own yearly Olympic games a good 45 years before the start of the modern Olympic games. Mandeville is named after the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England who started the Stoke Mandeville Games for injured soldiers back in 1948 and which are considered the inspiration for the Paralympic Games.

There is a lot of symbolism in the design of these two and you can go here to read about it because I just do not want to take the time to explain to you why they look like non-purple versions of the one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater.

Well I saw the thing coming out of the sky
It had one long horn and one big eye
I commenced to shakin' and I said Oowee
It looks like a purple people eater to me

It was a one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater
One-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater
One-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me
(One-eye)

Well, he came down to earth and he lit in a tree
I said Mr Purple People Eater don't eat me
I heard him say in a voice so gruff
(I wouldn't eat you 'cos you're so tough)

It was a one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater
One-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater
One-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me
(One-eye)

I said Mr Purple People Eater what's your line
He said eating purple people and it sure is fine
But that's not the reason that I came to land
(I wanna get a job in a rock 'n roll band)

Well, bless my soul, rock 'n roll, flying' purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, under-growed, flyin' purple people eater
(Who wears short-shorts)
Friendly little people eater
What a sight to see!

Well, then he swung from the tree and he lit on the ground
He started to rock, really rockin' around
A a crazy ditty with a swinging tune
(Be bop wop bop a lula wop bam boom)

Well, bless my soul, rock 'n roll, flying' purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, under-growed flyin' purple people eater
(I like short-shorts)
Friendly little people eater
What a sight to see!

Then he went on his way and then what do you know
I saw him last night on the Starout(?) show
He was a blowin' it out and really knockin' them dead
Playing rock 'n roll music through the horn in his head!
(Tequila)

Never Talk Politics Or Religion

Chick-Fil-A does not seem to understand that the above rule is very important when you run a business. Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A and son of the company founder, said in a newspaper interview that he believed in "..the biblical definition of the family unit.”

He then double-downed during a radio interview saying,

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.' I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."

This caused the Jim Henson Company, who was in a promotional deal with Chick-fil-A, to release the following statement:

"The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over 50 years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO, is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD."

Chic-fil-A reacted to this statement by saying they had already dumped the Muppets the day before because the toys were defective:

Uh-huh.

Not learning from that misstep someone at Chick-fil-A decided to create a facebook account, using a stock photograph of a teenage girl as the profile pix, to post favorable comments on Chick-fil-A's facebook page.

Just who are the ones being arrogant, My Cathy? Let the boycott begin!

Note: I would be boycotting Chick-fil-A at this point, too, if I did not already not eat there. I've been boycotting them for years because I think their food is crap. The food used to be great but they've expanded to the point where they can no longer guarantee the quality of the food being prepared in all their restaurants.

Yesterday the Chick-fil-A fiasco turned into a free speech issue when it was reported that an alderman in Chicago wants to block Chick-fil-A from building one of their restaurants in his ward. How is this a freedom of speech issue? Well, the first amendment to the US Constitution says in part that:

Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech.

In trying to use Chicago zoning law to punish Chick-fil-A for Mr. Cathy's anti-gay remark, Alderman Moreno is trying to abridge Mr. Cathy's constitution right to say any dumb-ass thing that pops into his head. No government official is allowed to do that; it says so right there in the first amendment.

If Alderman Moreno really wanted to punish Chick-fil-A he would allow them to build their restaurant in his ward. If he knows his constituents as well as he believes he does then he also knows that within one to two months after completion Chick-fil-A will have to close the place down after people vote with their feet by not stepping through the restaurant's doors. That's the way to punish Chick-fil-A, hit them right where they live- in the bank account.

Wining Isn't Everything, It's The Only Thing

You know, when Republican member of the United States House of Representatives Michele Bachmann says crazy stuff about the president it doesn't bother me as much as when Mitt Romney says it. That's because I know Bachmann believes what she is saying while Romney knows what he is saying is a lie. The guy has no scruples and that's what makes him a sleaze bucket in my book.

I Don't Want To Play Anymore

Where I Was At Approx. 8:35 PM EDT On July 3th

On the beach in Palm Beach, FL (Photo by Tara Shannon)

I started this series with a beach photo from the morning of my last day in Palm Beach, Fl. I'm ending it with a photo of me on the beach on my first night there. Peace and love, everyone.

Stop The Madness

The gun madness in this country hit closer to home with the murders at Century 16 in Aurora Town Center last night. I am feeling anger, despair and hopelessness. The myth that the Constitution give us the unlimited right to have as many guns as we want is destroying us.

The NRA wants you to believe that the Second Amendment to the Constitution only says this about gun ownership:
"...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

The complete amendment reads:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

This amendment was written to give a brand new country a way to quickly create an citizen Army during a time when it did not have the funds to maintain a professional one. How this morphed into the right for anyone to have as many guns as they want without question is beyond my comprehension.

Where I Was At Approx. 1:15 PM EDT On July 9th

Contemplating the drinks lined up in front of me at Michael's Genuine Restaurant, Miami, FL.(Photo by Tara Shannon)

Where I Was At Approx. 10:24 AM EDT On July 5th

Outdoor walkway at Bethesda-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church, Palm Beach, Fl(Photo by Tara Shannon)

Where I Was At Approx. 12:43 PM EDT On July 9th

On southbound I-95 heading to Miami, Fl.

The city of Miami in the distance.

Where I Was At Approx. 12:52 PM EDT On July 7th

On Henry Flagler's private railcar at the Flagler Museum, Palm Beach. FL(Photo by Tara Shannon)

100th Birthday of Woody Guthrie

Happy Birthday Woody.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
All around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

There was a big high wall there, that tried to stop me
Sign was painted, said "Private Property"
But on the backside it didn't say nothing
This land was made was made for you and me.

When the sun comes shining as I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

Where I Was At Approx. 6:48 PM EDT On July 4th

In Palm Beach at a Fourth of July party with Tara.(Tara holding an image of me and me holding a sparkler.)

Where I Was At 6:35 AM EDT On Tuesday July 10th

In Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Tara Shannon)

And Break

Lots of things going on right now so I'm going to be away from my blog for about a week. Who knew adding one extra dog to the mix would be so time consuming. See you soon.

Oh, and to those of you who celebrate have a great and safe 4th of July.