The Olympics!

As many of you know, the 2014 Winter Olympics have started.  You may also be aware that this month is Black History month.  While the month is generally devoted to accomplishments by Americans (and I will share one with you after I talk about all things Olympics,) I wanted to start off our Olympic coverage on my blog with a story about a Kenyan man who overcame his body's own ailments to win a gold medal in 1968 in Mexico City. His name is Kip Keino.


I happened to read on "Today I Found Out" that during this race he was actually suffering from gallstones (though they didn't know that at the time).  Not only did he win the gold medal for the race, but he also had to run 2 miles just to make it in time to register and dress for the race because there was so much traffic the bus he was riding would have otherwise been too late.  And did you see that amazing lead he had at the end there?

Since his racing days, Kip has settled down in Kenya, took in over 100 orphaned children, had seven children with his wife, served as president of the National Olympic Committee Kenya, and has been inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.

So let's move forward to the present and this year's Winter Olympics.  By now, most of you have heard the news about the conditions there, seen pictures, and gotten a pretty good sense that security isn't all that great in Russia.  When I was talking with my dad earlier today on the phone, I mentioned that were I a Russian, I think I would, frankly, be pretty embarrassed by how poorly my country has represented itself to the world.  That said, it stands to reason that Russia is going through a rather difficult period--still trying to figure out how to transition from a communist society to a more capitalistic one.  And maybe that is some of what we're seeing in these stories.  Of course, it could also be that things were simply mismanaged and the people in power would rather enjoy spending time with a tiger than actually ensuring that the Winter Olympics goes off without a hitch.

Now, granted, these are just the hotels in which the journalists are staying, and the Olympic Village itself seems to not have any problems, but if the stories I have read are any indication, this is definitely a nightmare.

That said, ...what else could possibly go wrong to give me such a negative impression.  Let's try this for a start:

Well, ...maybe nothing is ever really perfect, though I'll definitely be looking for problems for the rest of the Olympics because of this.

That said, the Olympics is about bringing together people from all over the world to represent their nation in friendly competition.  It is meant to inspire athletic greatness and showcase the best athletes countries have to offer.  Maria Sharapova led the group that got to carry the torch to the cauldron which ended with Irina Rodnina and Vladislav Tretyak lighting the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremonies.

To bring us back around to Black History month, I wanted to share something really special with all of you from Levar Burton who used to play Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  I hope you all enjoy the story--and the story.


Enjoy the music, the joy of new discoveries, and remember that in spite of our differences, happiness is born not from what we have, but from what we share.  Have a good weekend, everyone!

The Joy of Discovery

Sometimes you don't even realize it--that the article, or the road, or the song, or the show--whatever that moment of choice led you to--is really a new discovery.  And the moment you start denying yourself certain choices is the moment when discovery is lost.  That said, not all discoveries are good ones, and some have far-reaching consequences; Pandora's box opened, after all, has let the atom bomb into the world.  And that certainly can't be put back in the box again.

That said, I have to admit that over the past few weeks as I work to find new ideas and new thoughts to share with you all here, I find myself inundated with this amazing amount of information.  Still, like Solomon, I worry about what I put here--what is right and what is wrong--good or evil--true or false.  I wonder if the knowledge that I share with you will have far- reaching consequences, and I worry that even my own desire to find something interesting or new may one day serve to lessen my credibility as a truth-seeker.

And yet, ...I still can't stop myself from clicking on that next article, or reading through hundreds of Facebook posts, copying pictures, and saving things to my favorite's bar because I think they might be of some use or importance in the months and years to come.  I'm learning as I go that what might not seem a big deal right now may later prove to have been prescient, and I'll admit that even I want to learn the secrets of how to discover a thing--to search out a method that says: This thing is important to know about now, as it will be relevant in the years to come.

Science fiction writers always seem to have a leg up on this--their imaginations and their own interests and discoveries leading the way for "future tech" and scientific research.  But the truth of the matter is that these people could see problems and then speculate about the kinds of solutions that might be created--ideal and otherwise.  They believed in a better world, and whether they were satirizing the present, theorizing about a utopian or dystopian future based on currently held beliefs of the world, or just trying to push social, moral or cultural agendas, they did so by inviting us to discover something new.

With that in mind, and seeking to emulate some science fictional ideals of discovering the world around me, I have a few articles to share with you today that made me rethink my ideas of cultural myths, historical figures, and how bad I am at making friends.

The first is an article by Gizmodo that talks about the Bermuda Triangle.

Now let me just say that I have always had a love of mysteries.  My dad loves that stuff, and when I was growing up, we watched a lot of TV shows that tried to explain the seemingly unexplainable.  My dad loved discovering things, too, and he passed along that love to me; it is something I cherish to this day.  That said, ...sometimes the love of the mystery can be almost as important as knowing the reality.  But I think that the reality, in all cases, is just as important.

So if you're wanting to know some truths about the Bermuda Triangle, I encourage you to check out the article.  It 's definitely worth the read.

Next on my list is an article about daylight savings time.  It stems from clicking on a link that I found at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle link, and I just couldn't pass it up: Today I Found Out.

So it turns out that daylight savings time was something of a proposal written by Benjamin Franklin, and it was more or less written in jest.  If you'd like to read more about it, I urge you to, and check out the bonus facts at the bottom of the article.  They're pretty interesting.

And for those of you wondering when daylight savings time is this year, I went ahead and did a search for that for you, too.  Here it is--your calendar warning.

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 9, 2014 (in 45 days) and ends on Sunday, November 2, 2014.

Which brings me to my last bit of discovery: making friends isn't easy for me.  Maybe it isn't easy for anyone.  But John Cheese's article at Cracked.com today made me feel a little less weird about it all.  So if, like me, you have some issues making friends and want to discover the secrets to unlocking the friend-verse, I urge you to have a look at the article.  Also, ...you can friend me, or add me to your Google+ circle, or ....  Yeah.  You get the point.