I = Olympoholic/Olympifan/whatever you think to call me

I forget how much I love the Olympics. I even thought I liked the Summer Olympics best, but now that the Winter ones are on again, maybe I like them better. There is just something about the national comradery that pulses the nation during the Olympics. It's an event that only happens once every 4 years (or 2, now that the Summer and Winter are staggered). The sports are not well followed by the American public. The athletes are pretty unknown until the Olympics actually roll around. But, then, when that torch is lit and the Olympic rings make their way out of the horizon, we all start to fell that spirit deep within us. It is time to root for your country, listen to the Athletes stories, and even cheer those other countries on a bit. It is truly an international phenomenon. I catch myself watching it when I get home at night, taking a break to do whatever I need to get done, and then coming back to the games on the late night session. I don't want to fall asleep because I may miss on ski run, triple axle, or medal ceremony.

Since the Olympics are coming to a close, I want to list some of my favorite moments with a brief (or not so brief) commentary:

1)Lindsey Vonn wins gold in ladies downhill skiing. After sustaining an injury that could have possibly taken her out of the running, she pushed through and won the gold. Plus, she is just pretty cool because she has a pet cow. She got it as a prize back in 2005. She was supposed to trade it in for the prize money, but she insisted on keeping the cow instead.

2)Back on Sunday, the USA men's hockey team beat Canada (IN CANADA) for the first prelim hockey match-up. Awesome and a bit unexpected in my mind! Hopefully, USA can pull through in the next few days and face Canada again in quest for the gold! Team USA!

3)Apolo Ohno wins 2 more medals, making him the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete ever.

4)Snowboarding. Its just really fun and pretty hardcore. The downside, the most of the American Olympic snowboarders (male and female) could use some lessons in grooming.

5)Evan Lysacek gets gold in men's figure skating and beats the pissed-off Russian who won in 2006. Plushenko (the angry Russian), who was one of the only men to attempt at quad tells the world that mens skating without a quad is (ice) dancing. Lysacek did not attempt a quad. I have to agree with the angry Russian on this one. I thought so many previous Olympic skater attempted major jumps....it doesn't seem that way anymore. And, figure skating without the jumps is pretty boring. More on this in the next one.

6) Kim Yu-Na wins gold to bring home the first women's figure skating medal ever for Korea. It sounded like the country would kill her if she didn't win. That is way to much pressure for one person to bear so I am very relieved that she won. I can just imagine the headlines if she hadn't. The other favorite was from Japan and she landed 3 triple axles during this Olympics. One in the short program. Two in the long program. She brought her A-game, but it was not enough to beat Yu-Na. She does now have the credit of landing the most triple axles ever in female Olympic figure skating. In fact, she was the only athlete that even did a triple axle at all. I thought back in the day (like the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding days) that alot of the skaters attempted that jump, but I must be mistaken. However, I did not see a back flip with a one-skate landing. Surya Bonaly used to do that, and she was AWESOME. She's black, and you don't see that often in figure skating. She was also French and had a ton of personality on the ice. I long for that talent again......check out her long program at the Nagano Olympics in 1998 (backflip is around the 3 and a half minute mark).

Anthony Williams!

I love him. I think he needs his own reality show. He is the best part of this season's Project Runway, by far!

Boob job=Bullet Proof Vest?

One doctor and some LAPD officers think that this California woman's life may have been saved due to her size D breast implants. The theory is that the silicone implants slowed the bullet to her chest. It sounds possible to me, but who knows? I think this would require some scientific experiment to verify. Where is TJ Thyne (the rogue forensic scientist on my fave TV show, Bones) when you need him?

Click here to read more about how the shooting went down.

Fins Up!

So, Jimmy Buffett is coming to Nashville. I loooooovvvveeee Jimmy Buffett, much due to the total immersion I experienced in my youth. My dad was a major parrothead. I have been waiting so long for this, but now I just don't think I can make myself go.

1)It is at Sommet--INSIDE. J.B. in an indoor venue is a little ironic. It kinda spoils the mood.

2)It is the same Saturday as the Derby. I have gone to Louisville one of my best friends the last few years for the Derby, and it is always so fun!

3)I always thought that my first live Jimmy Buffett concert would be with my dad. I hate that we never got to see him live in concert together. I don't know that I am ready for this concert. Let's hope it is not another 10 years before J.B. comes back.

New product from Spanx!

Hey, I like spanx. Why shouldn't a guy with a gut? More power to ya, I say! Equal rights. Question, though: Does the men's undershirt cost less than the women's products? If so, that figures....but it doesn't make it right.

I am so fed up with airlines!

We have all heard about airlines requiring larger people to buy an additional seat or being forced to leave the aircraft due to their sheer size. Well, Southwest's latest victim, Kevin Smith did not take it lightly and stirred up a media frenzy with a vengeance. Southwest better watch who they mess with. If it happened to me, you better believe I would be seeking revenge. My thoughts on the matter are as follows:

With the ever-increasing size of Americans, why wouldn't an airline strive to cater to the needs of their customers?

Is the number of seats you can squeeze in a tiny vessel really the bottom line?

Are airlines actually diverting the blame for an inferior product to people of larger stature (I don't like to call anyone fat. I am sensitive to that word.)?

I think that if airlines truly wanted to promote safety (Southwest claims they kick big people off in the name of safety) and comfort (what their customers actually care about), they would take out a seat or two from each row and put in wider seats--and maybe even a wider aisle. They are so concerned with creating lighter-weight seats so that the aircraft flies faster and uses less fuel. The simple solution may be less seats. After all, the frame of the seat is what really makes up most of the mass. But, no, instead they design seating arrangements that are only adequate for people under 5'5" in height and under 160 lbs. Most people I know can't meet both those standards. According to airlines, no one could possibly be uncomfortable on a flight--unless they are overweight--or they are sitting next to an overweight person. I will not take the blame for an airline's inferior product. I love to fly, but these rules and attitudes make me sick to my stomach. This is yet another case of the bullies preying on the weak.

Check out these blogs for more info.
http://jezebel.com/5473679/will-airlines-ever-change-their-customer-of-size-policies

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/travelers_check/archives/2010/02/fat_nation_kevi.html

http://jezebel.com/5472230/kevin-smith-isnt-the-first-person-southwest-deemed-too-fat-to-fly

love. this. coat/jacket.

I meant to post this photo of Lauren Conrad last week.....but I forgot, and just now found it in my saved docs. Don't you just love this canary jacket? SO PRECIOUS! Obvs, it best suits a small frame. It would look like a tent on me. I can still admire it from afar, though, right? L.C. has definitely come up in the world since she ditched the reality TV. Hasn't she seen what it did to Heidi?