Let’s Put More Spark in that Olympic Flame!

(Authors note:  The following article is strictly for entertainment purposes.  I wish every athlete a safe and enjoyable Olympic experience.)  GW-T

Every four years we watch the same thing over and over again.  Winter or summer, these sports are predictable and frankly, dull.  My interest is growing thinner than a runway model.  I propose to fix them up and pretty much eliminate the need for judges. In most events, the last man standing would win!  I bet the ratings would soar and it would draw more folks than a donut stand at a “Biggest Loser” casting call!

Here are a some of my tamer suggestions:
Biathlon: Wouldn’t it be more interesting if instead of stopping and shooting at targets, they shot paint balls at each other?  The one who comes out clean wins!

Curling:  Just about anything would make this sport more exciting, but why not toss on some dirt/trash on the ice for them to actually sweep up?  Mark and Audra suggested summer curling—you had to be done before the ice melts.  This might speed up the competition, which it badly needs.  It's like watching paint dry.

Speed Skating:  Go fast, turn left.  Ho-hum.  Do you remember Roller Derby?  Let them fight it out!  Can we add hurdles or an obstacle course?

Bobsled/Luge:  Those folks are always complaining they can’t see.  Send them down headfirst!  Why not race several at a time like those slides where you sit on the burlap bag?

Ski/Snowboard Jumping:  Give them something to jump over like Evil Knievel—a few buses perhaps?

Beach Volleyball:  I still don't see it as an Olympic sport, but maybe if they played in a pit of Jell-o...

Since the horses don’t win anything and they do all the work, why not just make the riders run the course in the Three Day Eventing?

Watching folks run in circles for hours isn’t great television, so why not have them run on a motocross track or in some kind of maze?  If they have to carry a baton for the Relay races, why not have them twirl it?

Why do they still call it Figure Skating?  That part of the competition is so boring they don't even show it.  By the time they hit that level, they darn well had better be able to skate a figure "8."  However, I would be interested in watching them skate a figure "1,293,742."

Swimmers might set more world records if they were swimming in ice water.

We would all watch Water Polo if they rode horses …they're just hanging around munching hay anyway since I freed them up from Three Day Eventing.

I am sure that nothing will change, but I do feel better throwing my two cents in.  Please comment with any suggestions you have to improve the Olympic Games.  I'd love to hear them!

Enjoy the games!

Gale

FYI: (Taken from zanecky.com)

What do the Olympic rings signify?

According to most accounts, the rings were adopted by Baron Pierre de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympic Movement) in 1913 after he saw a similar design on an artifact from ancient Greece.  The five rings represent the five major regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Every national flag in the world includes at least one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.  It is important to emphasize that Pierre de Coubertin never said nor wrote that the colors of the rings were linked with the different continents
The Olympic Flag made its debut at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. At the end of each Olympic Games, the mayor of that host-city presents the flag to the mayor of the next host-city. It then rests at the town hall of the next host-city for four years until the Opening Ceremony of their Olympic Games.

Gale Does "Dallas" & Other Guilty Pleasures

I was beginning to mourn the end of the TV season and the fact that the summer fill-in shows are usually awful.  My favorite shows right now are "Mad Men" (the original "Sex and the City" or better yet call it "Sex in the 60's!") and some of the History channel antique shows I watch with the family.

I'm thankful for reruns of "2 Broke Girls" that I missed the first go-round.  Though really racey for an 8:00 pm slot, it is hilarious!  The humor, puns and sarcasm are rapid-fire and it's produced by the fellow who did "Sex and the City."  The main premise is a dark-haired permanently broke waitress meets a recently broke blond heiress (her father went to jail for his ponzi scheme) who becomes a waitress at the same diner.  This heiress brings along her pet to live with them:  a horse named Chestnut that lives on their patio.  The girls are saving up to open their own cupcake shop, but many things stop them from saving very much.  There is a tally at the end of every episode and I think they are ahead perhaps $150.

Anyway, I digress...

For you young'uns... way back in the late '70s and 80's TV was limited to ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. There were some large local stations, but not zillions of channels we have nowadays.  So, when a show was popular... pretty much everyone watched it.  The biggest night was Friday.  For young adults and older we had the "triple play" of "Knight Rider," "Dallas," and "Falcon Crest."  (I wasn't much of a Falcon Crest fan.)  Folks would meet at each other's homes or go out to bars to watch TV together.  You would plan your night around this.  (You couldn't record shows just yet.)

"Dallas" was a huge hit and it was a worldwide event to find out "who shot JR."  It was known as the "the shot heard 'round the world."  The show was about the oil wealthy Ewing family who lived on a ranch called "South Fork."  It was unabashedly flashy, dramatic and hokey, with huge plot issues that one had to overlook (mostly in the relationship department.)  The hardest issue to accept had to be when brother Bobby died and then a season or two later he came back because it was "only a dream."  He just shows up in a season opener in the famous "shower scene."  Boy, they expected a lot out of the audience!

Like many bad substances, "Dallas" was addictive.  I usually don't watch reruns of anything, but when the series came to TNT, I watched it every day while making the kids' lunch.  (There was a 10 year break though, so that's my excuse.)  There was comfort in the predictable...every party they had involved a fight with someone winding up in the pool--we would just try to guess who would be next.  They had the Oil Barron's Ball for glamour, nearly always including a "shocking reveal" to the guests.  They almost lost "South Fork" every season.  JR (black hat) and Bobby (white hat) fought continuously over Ewing Oil.

Conveniently, JR and Bobby both had sons to carry on the tradition because "Dallas" has 12 new episodes on TNT at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays.  The stars are the grown up boys with the old Bobby, JR, Sue Ellen, Cliff, Ray and Lucy coming and going during the show.  But now it has a young cast for the next generation which are of course all gorgeous and everything is updated technically.  (I still remember JR carrying a portable phone the size of a football.  Very hip then.)  There is still the same ole conniving, fighting, cheating and treachery of the original series though!

Here is a look at the main cast:  (taken from their webpage)

I just read that TNT renewed it for next season with 15 episodes, so you'd better hurry and catch up!

Happy viewing!
Gale

Scenes From (Under) The 'Hood: A Visit To The Local Antique Tractor Show

Hello all!


Well, it's that time of year when it gets really steamy... especially in Plain City, OH, the home of the Miami Valley Steam Thresher's 63rd Annual Reunion and Show.  Mark is the president this year, but he has been an active member most of his life.  The show features antique farm equipment, but it's a lot like a fair with yummy, expensive junk food ($20 for 2 lemonades, a fry and a sausage sandwich,) entertainment, flea market, a two-hour parade and big tractor pull.   He is especially proud that the featured group of Allis-Chalmers had a record turnout for their "Gathering of the Orange," with 745 exhibits showing up for this national event (more than 300 folks came to the banquet last night!)

There was also record spectator attendance, along with records broken in the amount of other types of equipment.  Congratulations for a big job well done to the board of directors and all of the members who work long and hard hours to bring this to the community!

Here is a brief interview with Mark by the Ohio Agriculture Network:
http://ocj.com/2012/07/audio-miami-valley-steam-threshers-reunion/

Here are some scenes from the show---you will see lots of orange, usually it's lots of green (for John Deere!)

This is my husband Mark getting ready to crank start his 1918 AC Mack truck, the kids and I lovingly call "Mater." 

Mark had the honor of leading the parade with the Mayor of Plain City, Sandra Adkins.  She said it was a nice change from riding in the back of a convertible!

Getting ready to pull out on the parade route that shuts the town down for more than two hours!  This is the most that this truck has ever been driven in one stretch.

Orange Everywhere!

Audra and Taylor always begged to ride the little barrel train through the park.  Sadly, they are way too big now!

The Ohio Village Muffins old-time baseball team plays after the parade (in wool uniforms!)

Not sure what this is about.  But it's in Harley colors...  Below is a beautiful antique semi-tractor...

Here are some "blast from the past" show photos:

Taylor begged his dad to drive ol' "Dirt" the Oil Pull in the parade probably eight years ago and then he talked Grandpa into it another year on his Oil Pull tractor.  Mark was able to get it to blow perfect smoke rings right at the announcer's reviewing stand.  The folks loved it.

One year they made the "Columbus Dispatch:"

This was Mark's Rumely steam engine "Dorothy Jean" taking a power test.  Behind the belt is Grandpa's Model TT Ford truck.

Here is a brief clip of Mark running her...

This is "Dirt" after a make-over.  

Not to be forgotten is "Dirt's" roommate "Gert" below.  She went to a lot of shows because she was prettier than "Dirt" for many years.

If you are in the 'hood the 2nd week of July, be sure to stop by Pastime Park and enjoy the show.  For more information, go to the Miami Valley Steam Threshers Association Facebook page or website.  Or you can just contact me and Mark can answer any questions.

See you next time,

Gale

Rockin' At The Hall Of Fame!

(This was accidentally deleted and all comments.  So sorry if you've already read it.  It is way too easy to delete on this new software and there is no easy way to retrieve it.  As always, enjoy and tell a friend or two!
Stay cool, Gale)

Taylor and Audra in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  At left is Brown's stadium.

I promised Audra and Taylor a long time ago that we'd go the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Sunday was the day.  Fortunately, most of the drive was nice, dry and sunny.  Not as much traffic as I expected either for a holiday (sort of) weekend.  At Mark's suggestion, we stopped at White Castle for a quick meal of breakfast sliders (bacon or sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches.)  They crack open real eggs and the sandwiches are surprisingly, pretty good and not greasy.

Though a two and a half hour drive, the Hall of Fame is easy to get to right at the edge of Lake Erie.  This isn't a cheap venture though, parking in a tiny lot was $10 for starters.  Tickets are $22 each unless you fit in a stroller.  It's non-profit, so I guess somebody has to pay for the upkeep (and the not the zillionaires in the music industry...who probably get in free.)  The building is an interesting pyramid shape in glass with lots of colorful guitars lining the sidewalk.  I don't have many photos because you aren't allowed to take any of the exhibits,  just outside and in the atrium.

Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

We (at least me) didn't have many pre-conceived notions of what it would be like.  It was really hard to wrap my brain around the place as it isn't organized in a way my OCD thought process would've done it.  Yes, it is a rock music mecca and it's probably just a mirror of that crazy world.  It was noisy to me, with sound bytes at nearby interactive exhibits, background music, tour guides talking, folks chattering, etc.  

The floor plan was a bit jumbled, though it looks organized in the exhibit guide.  They start by grouping artists (not all hall of fame members) chronologically, but that is hard due to so many who  crossed several decades.  Then, in the middle of an aisle, there is this random Jimi Hendrix hall leading to the Beatles and the Stones, then back to history again.  Maybe we should've taken the formal tour and it might have made more sense.  But I doubt it and it would have taken 5-6 hours including the long movies.  If you have a favorite artist, it is possible you could be looking several places to find artifacts.

We thought who wasn't included was actually more noticeable than who was.  For instance, no Boston,  Ted Nugent, Peter Frampton, Lynyrd Skynard and the list goes on.  We decided on the perfect way to organize the artists:  Those Who Died Doing Drugs, Those Who Died In Plane Crashes (Though Ronnie Van Zandt still wasn't included), Those Who Died Normally, Those Still Alive, Those Still Alive and Don't Do Drugs which would be a pretty small group.

I also had to keep in mind this wasn't the music hall of fame, but just rock.  Hard when they are displaying Elvis' gospel album of the year grammy award...  I also found it hard to associate some of the exhibits as real (though some were copies).  Michael Jackson's real "Thriller" grammy and wardrobe was featured along with his sequin glove.  

Michael Jackson tribute outside of gift shop.  They charge folks $25 to have a picture taken with it.  Well, they take it for free, but if you want it, it's $25. LOL!

Overall, it was enjoyable and interesting.  I think though, it borders on a cluttery archive instead of a museum.  For instance, who really cares about a copy of so and so's dry cleaning receipt???  Photocopies of hand written lyrics???  That stuff could be in a separate area and alphabetized or something.  Wading through it got distracting.  The Grateful Dead was the feature and there were several areas with their stuff.  Since none of us are "Dead Heads," it didn't really interest us.  

Some of the memorable exhibits, besides Michael Jackson's, were John Lennon's piano where he wrote "Imagine" and his glasses, Elvis' Lincoln (that I missed because I was looking at the outfit next to it and his grammy,) and loads of costumes.  I noticed how small most of those folks were/are, but then I had a duh moment when I realized some costumes were tucked in behind the hanger.  There were some exhibits which were kinda creepy like pieces of Otis Redding's plane crash, pipes belonging to Grateful Dead members and Jimi Hendrix's sofa that was really nasty looking, but Taylor thinks pretty valuable if one were to vacuum it for the drugs... maybe that could offset the ticket prices???  The grammy trophies were pretty ordinary, except for the fact it was a grammy that I can only dream about getting:)  I guess I was thinking they were real gold or something, but they were like any you would order at a trophy shop.  

After our brief tour, we went over to the Hard Rock a few blocks away.  We had to look hard to not get stuck in a casino parking garage with a $25 fee.  We had a nice lunch, eating like we'd never eaten that day.  Cleveland has dozens of restaurants in the area that are pretty upscale.  Nicer than I remember as a kid.

Well, that's enough for this post.  Hope you enjoyed it and will come back for another visit!  Stay cool!

For more info and directions, go to rockhall.com.

Until then,

Gale