It's all about me

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
and ps. do you think the men's gymnasticsguysormen's ice skaters spent alot of their childhoods on the baseball diamond?

The male gymnasts were probably athletic in general as kids, and they certainly don't peak at 13. I would guess they did manly high school things like grappling around on a wrestling mat, etc. before doing gymnastics in college and getting good at it. Prepuberty training doesn't help a male gymnast. Being scary good at isometric weight training does. Imagine a 12-year-old boy doing an iron cross.

As for ice dancers, I went to high school with a guy who did pairs skating. He wasn't the toughest guy on the block, but neither he nor his parents were weird-obsessive about it. He has a regular job now, and occasionally posts here under the moniker "ironweed." You might have heard of him.

[Lexus_Talionis]

Originally posted by paigowprincess
Can someone guide me to a maker of really elegant yet comfy down sofas? Thanks! Much love brothers and sisters

Got so damn clever I lost my identity for over a year. Anyway, I don't know if they're too plebian for you, but I really really like my Pottery Barn Manhattan couch with down cushions and only wish i could have afforded the leather version. THe sofa bed version is a little saggy, though.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
As for ice dancers, I went to high school with a guy who did pairs skating. He wasn't the toughest guy on the block, but neither he nor his parents were weird-obsessive about it.

Someone in your hs wasn't destined to be Olympic calibre; especially given how academically rigorous you claim your hs was. Its the same boys or girls. As to men's gymnastics, anyone who can do that crap has got to have been practicing since he was a kid.

I used to play pick up b-ball with Todd Eldridge. He left his parents at like 10 or something to move to where his coach lived.

Was his life focused? duh.

Was he a good b-ball player? He wasn't as good as T, but he understands the game better- kind of like Ty, only not so whiney.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
The male gymnasts were probably athletic in general as kids, and they certainly don't peak at 13. I would guess they did manly high school things like grappling around on a wrestling mat, etc. before doing gymnastics in college and getting good at it. Prepuberty training doesn't help a male gymnast. Being scary good at isometric weight training does. Imagine a 12-year-old boy doing an iron cross.

As for ice dancers, I went to high school with a guy who did pairs skating. He wasn't the toughest guy on the block, but neither he nor his parents were weird-obsessive about it. He has a regular job now, and occasionally posts here under the moniker "ironweed." You might have heard of him.

Ah, the overwhelming power of the anecedote. Was your friend Olympic caliber? I've known a few female gymnasts who had plenty of other interests, both athletic and non. But they were not top of the world in their sport.

Michael Phelps has been in the pool every day since about age nine. The top male judokas were in the dojo by age five. I suspect the world class male gymnasts' other athletic pursuits approach the level of a game of pick-up basketball, if that, and that this is not particularly different from what female atheletes can do if they want.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Someone in your hs wasn't destined to be Olympic calibre; especially given how academically rigorous you claim your hs was. Its the same boys or girls. As to men's gymnastics, anyone who can do that crap has got to have been practicing since he was a kid.

I used to play pick up b-ball with Todd Eldridge. He left his parents at like 10 or something to move to where his coach lived.

Was his life focused? duh.

Was he a good b-ball player? He wasn't as good as T, but he understands the game better- kind of like Ty, only not so whiney.

Fuck. STP. Or you might find yourself echoing Hank.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Women's gymnastics is an enterprise of especially dubious morality because, like ballet, it involves making decisions about the best years of a young person's life when they are not mature enough to understand the repercussions. I'm not sure why boys are encouraged to diversify their sports activities until competitive high school coaches require them to specialize, but prepubescent girls are expected to work out for four hours a day, delaying growth and onset of menstruation. WTF? You're expected to sacrifice your body for ten years for the glory of the motherland.

FWIW, one of my sisters was an avid gymast from around four or five years old until maybe 12 or 13. She quit right at the point where she had to make a decision about whether or not to go hardcore. I think knew that her life was going to be more pain than glory. She could impress the hell out of all of her friends with all the tumbling, and that was good enough for her. My parents never put pressure on her to keep on going, and I'm sure they would have had a lot of doubts about it had she decided that she wanted to go on. Health wise, she sported a six pack for about four or five years afterwards without having to do a thing. For a few years, we thought that her gymnastics career may have had an impact on how her scoliosis developed (in her lower back, near her hips), but since my non-gymnast brother was recently diagnosed with scoliosis in the same place, that theory has been put into question.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Fuck. STP. Or you might find yourself echoing Hank.

In a genre as fragile as poetry, one's first efforts are either derivative, or insipid.

--Oscar Wilde

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by paigowprincess
Much love brothers and sisters

Back atchu, my caucasian queen!

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
In a genre as fragile as poetry, one's first efforts are either derivative, or insipid.

--Oscar Wilde

Well spoken Hank. Just remember when you collect that next paycheck that genius is born, not paid.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Ah, the overwhelming power of the anecedote. Was your friend Olympic caliber? I've known a few female gymnasts who had plenty of other interests, both athletic and non. But they were not top of the world in their sport.

Michael Phelps has been in the pool every day since about age nine. The top male judokas were in the dojo by age five. I suspect the world class male gymnasts' other athletic pursuits approach the level of a game of pick-up basketball, if that, and that this is not particularly different from what female atheletes can do if they want.

I can't argue with someone who uses Michael Phelps to make a point about the dedication necessary to be a top ice dancer.

I get your point, and Hank's. I don't think ice dancing is equivalent to women's gymnastics. Are we going to talk about the fact that Bonnie Blair was on skates at two when we discuss men's curling? My point was that men's gymnastics is no doubt intense and rigorous. I dispute merely that it requires the same single-mindedness at age seven as is required of future female Olympians.

[Fugee]

Originally posted by ABBAKiss
Do people who claim to "love shopping" buy a bunch of stuff? I abhor shopping. It is a necessary evil. I prefer to have things magically appear in my closet. I rarely try things on.

I like to shop recreationally to learn what is available and where one can get it at the best price. Clothes shopping is my least favorite kind of shopping unless I'm at the Lands End Inlet.

BTW, if you want the next best thing to having clothes magically appear in your closet, sign up with a personal shopper at your fave clothing store.

[Fugee]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
[Long post, so skip if you don't want to read an Olympic-sized rant.]

Okay, I'm sick of this shit. Every year it gets worse. The Olympics needs to form a subsidiary that handles all of the Olympic Coverage. NBC fucking sucks large, not-female-beach-volleyball ass.

1. Enough with the forced drama. We don't need to know the background of every single American competitor....The competition is what I tune in for, not the filler. Who likes that crap? How about showing more events and less life-stories.

2. We don't need the announcers constantly telling us where the American is in every single event. Once, at the beginning when you set out which countries are in the race and which lane each occupies is enough. I don't give a shit that the American is in 13th place in a 15 person race. I want to see the best in the world. Not the best American in the race.

So, recognize that this country is made up of people from all over the world who would love to see some coverage of events in which Americans might not have a shot to win. Hell, there are always some cool events I'd like to see that I normally wouldn't because that sport isn't popular here.

And when someone from another country does well, stop telling me that they train here, or that they live here.... I don't give a fuck. Neither does anyone else (with half a brain).

4. Do NOT mention Mark Spitz until someone is actually holding 4 or 5 gold medals. Fuck Phelps. He won one race out of the three he's been in. But before the first race, you were saying he had a chance to win 8 golds. Kiss my ass. Ridiculous expectations.
TM

I agree with you on the Michael Phelps/Mark Spitz point but, as one might expect, have a different opinion on the others. Overall, I think the coverage on NBC is better than in a lot of previous Olympics. The announcers for the diving and gymnastics competitions are not nearly the "homers" of previous years. Most of the men's gymnastics scores the announcers thought were way too low for the performance were for Japanese, Chinese, Russian or Romanian athletes, not Americans.

1. I like to hear about the athletes' backgrounds, especially of competitors from other countries with whom I might not be familiar. Whether or not it is a chick thing, there must be a big percent of viewers like me who like to know. I'd rather be able to watch these stories than commercials so I wish I had TiVo.

2. I also like to know where the Americans are as long as it doesn't get in the way of paying attention to the leaders in the race. Except in the men's gymnastics team finals, where I thought they spent time on keeping track of standings for drama purposes that could have been spent showing more performances, hearing what positions the Americans are hasn't distracted me from the competition. Middle America is full of people who simply want to follow the Americans -- NBC goes with the majority.

3. If you have cable and TiVo or a VCR, you can follow lots of non-American matches and less common sports. Again, NBC is going for the most common denominator for network coverage. If I had cable, I wouldn't sleep for the next two weeks.

4. I like knowing when an athlete competing for another country trains or goes to school here but not for "taking credit" reasons. I want to see if it changes the dynamics of competition, sort of like when a pitcher from one baseball team gets traded to a competitor.

Unfortunately for TM, NBC apparently thinks most people who will be watching the Olympics are like me.

[str8outavannuys]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
http://houston.craigslist.org/rnr/39273696.html

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...y_craigslist_2

EBay Buys 25 Percent Stake in Craigslist

9 minutes ago Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!

By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Online auctioneer eBay Inc. said Friday it purchased a 25 percent stake in craigslist, a popular online network of classified ads and forums.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The stake was purchased from a former craigslist employee who first contacted eBay with the proposed sale, craigslist officials said.

This is very very very bad news for everyone whose name doesn't rhyme with eBay. Especially people who have a side business of selling concert tickets.

FUCK.

I give it about a year until craigslist starts charging by the transaction/post.

FUCK.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
I can't argue with someone who uses Michael Phelps to make a point about the dedication necessary to be a top ice dancer.

I thought we were talking about male atheletes in general. I drew that conclusion from your post that started this mini-thread, where you said "I'm not sure why boys are encouraged to diversify their sports activities until competitive high school coaches require them to specialize, but prepubescent girls are expected to work out for four hours a day, delaying growth and onset of menstruation. WTF? You're expected to sacrifice your body for ten years for the glory of the motherland."

I get your point, and Hank's. I don't think ice dancing is equivalent to women's gymnastics. Are we going to talk about the fact that Bonnie Blair was on skates at two when we discuss men's curling? My point was that men's gymnastics is no doubt intense and rigorous. I dispute merely that it requires the same single-mindedness at age seven as is required of future female Olympians.

I can't argue with someone who uses an anecdote about an ice dancer he knew in high school to make a point about the relative single-mindedness of male and female gymnasts.

Do they do the ice dancing after the parallel bars, or before?

[Flea Bailey]

Originally posted by str8outavannuys
I give it about a year until craigslist starts charging by the transaction/post.

FUCK.

Yea, and then sprouteth from the barren soil a new life, that of something called the "Str8list", which shall not charge a fee, and for that reason shall replaceth Craig with something as it was in the days of yore.

Or something like that.