*whew*

The semester is finally over. I am so glad. I ended up with pretty good grades, too, which is great, considering what a bad month November was. I can finally relax after working almost constantly for 2 weeks--I even stayed up for 54 hours straight at one point.

Now I can finally start concentrating on my trip to Ireland. Woo! I'm excited. I still have a lot to do to get ready, though, and so little time to do it--my flight is only 10 days away, for crying out loud! One of the things I need to do is see friends. I got that done in Tulsa, but I still have some Edmondites to take care of. I'm really glad I'll be in Edmond for the next few days so I can do that.

Man, oh, man. It's gonna be surreal. It's gonna be a blast. It's gonna be awesome. Especially after talking to Ciaran (student from Northern Ireland going to TU), I'm really pumped for this adventure.

I'm in a perpetual state of waiting.

Well, I thought that with the coming of November, my life in general would become less stressful, but so far this has not been the case. This semester is starting to wear me thin. I'm STILL in the thick of all my class projects, so school is a bit chaotic. Band obligations have diminished slightly, but I've been skipping rehearsal some lately and I feel guilty for it. I keep staying up till the early hours of the morning (take a look at the post time below) and then waking up obscenely late. It's not responsible and it's not healthy. I have yet to fully catch up in Animation, though at least I haven't gotten any further behind. Today (meaning Monday) was the most unproductive day of the semester as well as one of the worst days I've EVER had. Study abroad forms continue to bombard me and probably will through December. I can't wait to leave on January first. I definitely need a change in scenery. Routines make me crazy, which may be why I'm slacking off so much lately--this does tend to happen in the latter half of semesters. In any event, tomorrow (meaning Tuesday) I will try to force myself to get my act together, and hopefully I can get through the rest of the month and half left of school with good grades, health, and confidence to be ready for travel. I'll be counting down the days.

Someday Soon

I think it's time to put myself away
Seek out a little silence
Close the doors and sit awhile
Walk a little

And as I put my words away
The flow slows
See this penny in a stream
Pickin' it up is easy

Follow the shape of it
Jump in
Swallow it whole
Jump in

Even though I know my way around
Possibly there's something new I've found
Holdin' on for findin' solid ground
Someday soon
Someday soon

I'll turn myself into the grass
And I'll grow
Take this space above my head
And live a little, little

Gonna wear my feather headdress
Like and Indian chief
Gonna stretch out both my arms
I'm gonna test the temperature

Follow the taste of it
Jump in
Swallow it whole
Jump in

Even though I know my way around
Possibly there's something new I've found
Holdin' on for findin' solid ground

Even though I know my way around
Possibly there's something new I've found
Holdin' on for findin' solid ground
Someday soon
Someday soon

Maybe walk a little
Someday soon

~KT Tunstall

Miracle Day:

I originally didn't feel at all like going to the game, but I had no choice 'cause I had to take photos and play with the band at halftime. So I went. And it was fun! I enjoyed myself immensely!

I guess I forgot how nice it feels to be on the sidelines of the game. And when I flash my media pass to get in it makes me feel important. :P Plus, I can go basically wherever I want as long as I'm behind the white dotted line that perimeters the field. I got some really great shots the first half. Caught two of the touchdowns up close.

Then I left a little before halftime to go change into the band uniform and help move the instruments over. I love my vibes. Soooo much easier to transport (and play) than the old set (too bad for Jesse). We played pretty well. Going back to the band room was a workout! I was basically dripping with sweat when we arrived there. Totally worth it, though, and it makes root beer taste that much better.

I figured I didn't need to go back for the second half we were ahead 35-0 and I got all the photos I needed. So I called up Dad, who came in from Dallas, and we went to The Brook. I'm so glad he came. We had a fun time tonight. Also, Sam Inman randomly shows up at our table! What a gas! He and Mike and Mindy and a few other folks decided to eat there after the game. Great minds think alike, I guess. I'm glad he came over to say hi. I would otherwise never have known they were there.

So after all that I decide to go over to John and Kevin's to chillax with the guys, but I swing by Agatha's first for a short visit. While there, I'm starting to feel tired and then I'm even thinking about maybe going to bed early and then... Frisbee happens. I can't say no to Frisbee. I just can't. It's an infatuation. It's an obsession. Just before that, though, I got to try some banana rum--that stuff is the goods!

So we go out and we warm up throwing my light up frisbee around and then... Ultimate! I had not played that beloved game in so long, and this just really brightened up my overall mood. It was the same tennis group from earlier in the day, plus these two guys, Pavo and James, who were passing by. One of the reasons why Ultimate is so great is that it brings people together. It's a laid back game. Everyone is welcoming and welcome. This night's game turned out to be one of the best I've ever played. Everyone got some action and everyone was great. I even rolled up my jeans and took off my shoes, just like old times. I really hope we do it again sometime. I predict we will. That new field between Lorton and Mayo is the shizzz.

Over the last week or so, my prevailing mood has been somewhat melancholy and disheartened. This day really brought me up. My spirits are still intact. I even got to have a brief chat with Heather, who I haven't spoken with in quite some time. Love her to death.

I may be without a permanent home, but I do think that TU is serving as a superb temporary one. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, God.

I just ate...

...three large bags of candy within 24 hours. First jelly beans, then candy corn, and then Twizzlers. Oh yeah, and there was a pack of Starburst in there as well.

This is not a good sign, folks. Not a good sign...

This is just a tad overdue.

The film shoot was great. I learned quite a lot, and I really enjoyed being outside at that location in Fairview, OK. Even our motel, the Walleye in Longdale, wasn't so bad. It actually grew on me the longer we stayed there. I met some awesome people, both crew and actors. I now have some new Facebook and MySpace friends. :P

We did not finish the film, which means we'll have to go back at some later date, but that date probably won't be anytime soon. Eric, one of the actors, is in a band and he's about to go on tour, so we'll at least have to wait till he gets back from that. Funny thing is, we'll probably be going back out there in Novemeber when it's super cold, unlike this time when it was mostly super hot. Each morning started out pretty cool (it even rained for a while Friday morning), but each day in the early afternoon the clouds parted, out came the sun, and we all got scorched. Needless to say, I am now quite tan. Luckily none of my sunburns peeled except the one on my nose.

I took a ton of photos. Here are some my favorites:

JR fixin' up the camera
Cast and crew hangin' out in the tent

Checkin' out the dolly

Mike Price doin' his thing

DP

My sound stuff <3

Applying the fake blood

Foolin' around

There was a lot of beautiful scenery.

Breakfast

Justin directing

Justin and Mike

"Action"

Mike on edge

Eric as Bill

Ashley as Ashlee

Down time

Nathan as Michael

I had to hold the mic from inside the car for this shot.

"Now I see clearly, and the dawn in coming nearly."

Well, my situation has definitely improved quite a bit in a week.

I now have a job at the bike shop. Today was my first day. It was fun! Putting bikes together. The only bad thing about it is that it's in the morning, but that's ok. I need to stop sleeping so late, anyway. The job doesn't really take any skill; it's just screwing in this, and attaching that. I love putting things together. Legos were my favorite toy when I was little.

I'm also going to be the photo/graphics editor for The Collegian again. I'm glad. I thought last May that I wouldn't do it again because I knew I had a busy schedule, but I do really need the money, and it is pretty fun most of the time, and my class schedule isn't going to be as hectic as I thought...

I'm not doing orchestra this year. *whew* My only B last semester, and probably the most time consuming class I've ever taken, and it's at such an inconvenient time! Ugh! No thank you. I might do it my senior year if there's not too much else going on, but for now, no way, José.

I've also decided to drop Music History III. I only went to two class periods and I already knew it was going to be my most boring class, by far. It would likely turn out as a B if I were to stay in it, and I really want this semester to be a blast, so I can wait till next year to take Music History. Also, the books for that class were WAY expensive. I didn't see that coming. But now I get a refund, thank God.

I think I am set. I have some great film studies stuff ahead of me, and band is going to be great, and I will be able to earn some money, and... I have decided to get out more, meaning I am going to get into exercise. Agatha and I had decided to play tennis on a regular basis, which shall be wonderful, I am sure. I am going to go disc golfing as much as possible, partly depending on whether others will go with me. And I'm going to start running. I have decided. I think now is when I will finally be motivated to get out and just run. I have an iPod that I don't use much, so running will be good use of that. Also, I've heard Riverside is a great place to run about. Also, I'm just sick and tired of being out of shape (pun intended). I miss that feeling. I miss being active. I feel better about myself when I'm outside moving around, and hey, that's basically a description of running! Imagine that!

I should probably add that I'm helping out at a film shoot tomorrow through Sunday, which should be a good and fun experience. I can't wait to use the sound mixer, if I can figure it out, that is...

I think this semester is going to be good.

Well, the first week of school went well. I think my film classes are going to be a blast, and I'll be able to overlap some projects with some of them, which is cool. Music History is probably going to be my least favorite, but at least it won't be real difficult.

Band is great. The pit music this year is quite challenging, which is a nice change. It was frustrating during band camp, but now that I'm starting to get it down, I'm having a lot of fun with it. Also, I love all the freshmen and new members. We have a great section this year. A real section.

It's amazing what listening to a bit of music can do to change one's mood. I was feeling somewhat blue earlier, and I decided I'd just sit down, chill, and listen to some of my favorite songs. It did wonders. I feel at least 50% better. :P I think the song of the moment right now is KT Tunstall's "Saving My Face".

Also, Lori has offered to give me a ride to Scottish dance on Thursday nights sometimes, and that is awesome. It's going to take me a while to get used to my new bike, so this way I won't have to miss dance for the first half of the semester.

It's been a great 2 weeks.

Well, it's all over now. China is now officially a sports powerhouse. They lost a gold, however, in the last diving event when an Australian dove perfectly and upset the order. We were able to somewhat make up for our mistakes in the 4x100m relays by winning both 4x400m relays. Bob Costas was his usual self--"The man from down under goes up and over" (referring to an Australian who won the pole vault). I'm really going to miss baseball, and I'm really, REALLY going to miss softball (but hopefully they'll bring back the latter in 2016 *crosses fingers*). Michael Phelps was obviously the biggest story of the games, and I'm anxious to see how he'll do in London 2012.

I'm excited for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Till then, my life will go back to normal. No more being glued to the tv, recording everything I can. No more scheduling activities around Olympic coverage. Ah well, I was just about ready to be free of it, anyway.

World's Greatest Athlete

American Bryan Clay won the decathlon! Woo! He finished last in the the 1500m, the last of the 10 events, but he was so far ahead by that point that it really didn't matter. Man, I love that decathlon. It's so amazing that those guys can do all of those events, no matter whether they medal or not. It's probably my favorite event of the Summer Olympics. I definitely think "World's Greatest Athlete" is a much cooler title than "World's Fastest Man/Woman" or "World's Strongest Man/Woman". I especially love watching the field events that the athletes do, and it has so much history. You gotta be great at not one thing, but 10! Awesomes.

One thing that I've never understood is why there's not a women's decathlon. There's a heptathlon, but that's 3 less events. American Hyleas Fountain got bronze in that, which is awesome. I just wish they would add pole vault, a longer distance run, and most of all DISCUS! They don't get to throw discus. How dumb is that?

Anyway, we've done really well this year in the team events. Our men's water polo team will play for gold, the women's team got silver. Men's and women's indoor volleyball will both play for gold. We already swept beach volleyball in both. The men's and women's basketball teams will play for gold, too, and are both expected to win. Women's soccer got gold. Baseball should end up with bronze. And softball got silver (which was a bad shocker, as I already explained). Overall, our teams are ruling majorly.

Mary Carillo did a story on kung fu monks, which was really awesome. On that note, the Lopez family dominated in tae kwon do. Mark won silver, Diana won bronze, then Steven (a 2 time gold medalist and 4 time world champion) got silver after a controversial penalty deducting a point from Steven, leading into overtime. They're the first tae kwon do family, and they're even all coached by their oldest brother Jean. That's pretty cool.

I haven't been able to watch any Judo at all, but according to this article, a variety of countries are medaling this year (the sport is usually dominated by Japan), including a first medal ever for Tajikistan. Ronda Rousey won the bronze for the US, too. I love martial arts!

Professor and the Beast

That is... Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, who played for the gold in men's beach volleyball. 'Twas an exciting game, just about as down to the wire as it could be. The teams were almost evenly matched. We would tie it up, Brazil would break the tie. We won the first set, Brazil the second. And then in the last set our guys started getting fired up while the Brazilians ran out of gas. We got the gold!

No gold in softball, though! I didn't get to watch the game, but I read this article about Japan's major upset! This was going to be the last Olympics for softball, and the reason was that the US was unbeatable. Lame reason on its own, but now the IOC will have to come up with a better reason for chucking it. Our loss is shocking and a bit sad, but hey, if it ends up saving the sport's Olympic future, that might actually make up for it.

We swept the men's 400m, but the best part was bronze medalist David Neville diving across the finish line. You don't see that too often! But he really might not have medaled if he hadn't done it. Nice move!

Another interesting track moment: the Cuban who won the men's 110m hurdles wears glasses. They're strapped to his head, obviously, but still... not exactly common. I think it's cool. It certainly didn't impede him at all; he won by a landslide and didn't hit a single hurdle.

Both the men's and women's 4x100m relay teams dropped their batons! Terrible! The US in general has under performed in track, and Jamaica has taken up the slack. Just like China's domination in diving, Jamaica is dominating the running events this year.

Speaking of diving, the audience watching the 10m platform finals all stood up and cheered as Chinese 15-year-old Chen Ruolin entered the water after a nearly perfect dive to win the gold. That's how much China loves their divers. They're 7 for 7 on golds for all the diving events.

BMX racing reminds me of speed skating. They all going so fast so close together that if one person falters he can take out everyone else behind him. Short, sweet, and hard to beat.

Queens of the Sandbox

Well, Kerri Walsh and Misty May won the women's beach volleyball gold. No surprise, really. I knew they would. Misty is such an awesome digger and Kerri is a great blocker; they're basically unbeatable. They have, after all, been undefeated for over a year.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt really is a freak of nature. He won the 200m just as easily as the 100m, and broke Michael Johnson's 12-year-old world record like it was no prob.

Race walking is freaking awesome. Period. Even more so when it's raining. They're like wiggling noodles moving along down the road. The slow mo is fascinating. It seems odd that there's a racing event in which you get disqualified if you exert too much, breaking into a slight run instead of a walk, but it's also weirdly cool.

Not much else to say, really. But I'm going to mention that I really like Chris Collinsworth and Mary Carillo. Chris has done great athlete interviews as well as befriended the Phelps family. Mary has been doing a bunch of really neat cultural stories, including one on pandas and one on kites. I love their demeanors and their storytelling styles.

Speaking of neat stories, Chris did a story tonight on a South African woman who participated in the open water swimming race, and she's an amputee! Now that is amazing.

Shawn and Nastia rule!

Shawn got her gold on beam, and Nastia the silver. Both of their routines were basically perfect except for a small step on Shawn's landing and a small hop on Nastia's. I'm really glad they were both able to get golds.

I'm also glad that Jonathan Horton got silver on high bar. :)

Not so glad: I felt so sorry for the two Americans runners who lost their golds in today. In the women's 200m, Sanya Richards had an awesome first 100, but then her leg cramped up and was passed by British runner Christine Ohuruogu and a Jamaican runner. Later, in the 100m hurdles, Lolo Jones was way ahead until she hit the 9th hurdle and ended up 7th. Dawn Harper pulled ahead to win gold, but Lolo's loss was quite a blow. After crossing the finish line, she dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. It was so sad. Times like these are always a part of the Olympics, but they're never easy to watch.

I watched some Tae Kwon Do online. I love it when they do spinning kicks. I hope I'm able to catch most of the finals.

BMX racing is really exciting! Lots of crashes. I'm glad they added that sport to the Olympics.

Screwy gymnastics scoring, vol. 2

Well, Nastia Liukin had a tying score with a Chinese gymnast for the gold in the uneven bars, but she ended up getting second because of a stupid tie-breaking rule. Other sports just give 2 golds if there's a tie. Why not gymnastics? That just doesn't make sense! Nastia got cheated out of a gold because gymnasts can't tie? That's completely ridiculous! I think Nastia's looked better, anyway. The judges have been scoring weirdly throughout the competition, and the new scoring system is pretty dumb. A perfect 10 is impossible now. They should change it back.

On a brighter note, American Jenn Stuczynski won silver in pole vault. Gold went to Russian Yelena Isinbayeva, who broke her world record and is really fun to watch. Pole vaulters in general seem to be really cool people. The male winner in Athens was pretty hilarious, dancing on the landing mat.

We also won gold in discus. Woo! Stephanie Brown Trafton.

Synchronized swimming is pretty fascinating. I had never watched a competition of it before last night, and it was fun to watch. It's set up kinda like figure skating. The teams have to do a technical routine with requirements and and then they have a free routine. Their suits match the show music, and their moves are built around that music. It's like they're dancing in the water, but they have to hold their breath most of the time while their legs are kicking around in the air. They're even judged on presentation and overall impression as well as execution and difficulty. It's an athletic performance.

Jamaican me crazy!

The Jamaican women swept the 100m dash! Woo! I like them. Sure, I was rooting for Lauren Williams, but the Jamaicans deserved their medals. Shelly-Ann Fraser, the winner, kept jumping around for joy after crossing the finish line. It was funny. That, along with Usain Bolt winning the men's event so easily, is one reason why Jamaica rocks.

33-year-old Oksana Chusovina won silver in the women's vault. She's amazing. Alicia Sacramone probably should have won bronze, but a Chinese girl barely beat her. Bela Caroli was getting really worked up about it. The Chinese girl had a huge step on her second vault and he thought Alicia got totally ripped off. :(

Shawn and Nastia looked like they were going to repeat 1, 2 in the floor exercise, but then Romanian Sandra Izbasa, the last to go, did an amazing routine to win it. That was kinda sad, but cool for Sandra. Note: I really don't get bored of watching Shawn's routine, and she is so cute!

On the men's side, we didn't get any medals. Artemev's pommel horse routine was really exciting and extra hard, so it stung more than usual when he fell off. :( The British guy, Louis Smith, however, got a medal, the first for the UK since 1928.

I got to watch some Badminton last night. It is really quite exciting! When Lin Dan won gold for China, he jumped up and fell down, he was so excited. He then threw his racket and both shoes into the crowd. Lol.

The US women's eights rowing team won gold for the first time in a couple decades! Woo!

A fruitful Olympics this has been, indeed

Well, I'm glad that Michael Phelps did it. That medley relay team was the best you anyone could possible have, so after he got his 7th, he was pretty much guaranteed an 8th. I'm going to enjoy watching all the interviews he's gonna do in the near future.

Dara Torres got the silver in the 50m, by 1/100 of a second--the margin by which Phelps won the 100m butterfly! She is so awesome. All other 41-year-old swimmers wouldn't even make the Olympic team, let alone win silver in a sprint! This has been such an awesome Olympic year for swimming--tons of records broken, lots of extremely close races.

Speaking of cool old athletes, and 38-year-old from Romania won the women's marathon, and she did it by a landslide! She pulled away early and stayed far ahead of the others for the rest of the race. It's reasons like this that make me love the Olympics so much.

Side note: Michael Phelps looks like my friend Adam Bruce, and best all-around gymnast Shawn Johnson looks kinda like my friend Brooke Ward. Crazy!

Michael Phelps, household name

Wow. Just wow. Phelps matched Spitz's record in the most exciting way possible! 1/100 of a second! The smallest margin there is. Gotta love it. His mom's reaction was pretty hilarious, but I also got a kick out of the faces on the people sitting in front of her. Later, Costas did an interview with him and Spitz, and Spitz really laid on the compliments. It was pretty cool. Phelps really is a great role model for the young 'uns. Side note: while NBC showed the clip of him winning again before ending the coverage session, they played "In Your Eyes" as the background music. Woo! Go Peter Gabriel!

In other news...

Kobe Bryant really moved up in my book after I watching an interview with him. He's been more of team player recently and he's not afraid to be patriotic. He's multilingual, doing interviews with people from other countries, and he seems like an all-around cool guy. I previously had the impression that he was kind of a jerk, and from watching him play with the Lakers he seemed somewhat of a ball hog. He's all right, though.

I can't wait to see Dara Torres in the 50m freestyle final tomorrow. She won her semi tonight, and it's so funny that she's twice as old as most of the others. She showed some great sportsmanship before the race when a Swedish girl had trouble with her suit, so she let the people in charge know so they could wait on her. So she kind of IS like a mom to all of 'em! It'd be really awesome for her to get her first individual gold, after 10 career medals, at 41 years old.

"I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rollin' down highway 41."

I rode on a Greyhound bus Wednesday for the first time ever to see Dave Matthews Band in OKC (which was a great concert), and it was pretty interesting. It kinda reminded me of a band trip, riding in a charter bus, but this time I didn't know any of the passengers. The stations are kinda like mini airports, and they were pretty nice--not really what I was expecting. My favorite part about it, though, was that the television inside the OKC station was playing Olympics coverage, so waiting for the bus was not a drag at all.

None of our men won medals in the gymnastics all-around, but I was glad to see the Chinese guy win. I like him. Our girls, on the other hand, were amazing. Nastia Liukin won gold, Shawn Johnson silver. I almost teared up when Nastia and her dad, who's also her coach and who won gold for Russia way back when, hugged and cried together.

And then, of course, Phelps gets another gold. Tomorrow's 100m Butterfly race will be more interesting than what we've seen lately because he's not particularly favored to win. We'll see. (Special note: NBC had Blue Man Group music playing on a Phelps special about his perfect swimmer physical features.)

I'm really glad that American James Blake won against Roger Federer in Tennis. Now that is an accomplishment, especially after losing to him 8 times already in the past. I really hope he goes on the win the gold.

I still have yet to see any Archery, and I'd like to catch some badminton at some point. But I did get to see a bit of table tennis. It was INTENSE. The most intense ping pong I've ever seen.

Phelps and Costas continuing to meet expectations...

Phelps at 11 career golds...

Bob Costas continues to be corny and somewhat athletically illiterate while anchoring the coverage...

The Women's Gymnastics team looked for a while like they might get gold, but after Alicia Sacramone botched her beam routine, she wasn't able to put it past her and ended up having a bad floor routine, but they still came away with silver. I really like Shawn Johnson's floor routine--she uses music from August Rush.

I've also noticed a lot of interesting music choices throughout NBC's coverage. I keep hearing soundtracks being used on stories about athletes, including National Treasure and Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events. Pirates of the Caribbean music was fittingly used when they talked about the fencing medal sweep. I also randomly noticed "Ghostbusters" playing in the background during a beach volleyball match.

Shaky day for the gymnasts

The US Men's Gymnastics team barely squeaked by with a bronze medal. We really were no match for China, but for a while it looked like we would get silver. Jonathan Horton had a great day, sticking all of his landings, even after his super cool and super hard high bar dismount. Justin Spring's high bar routine was even more fun to watch. He was all over the place, with multiple releases and one-handed swings. I think he's my favorite team member. But then, Joey Hagerty had a bad floor routine and our first two pommel horse guys had trouble. Artemev, however, stepped in and kept us ahead of the Germans with a great routine. The most interesting part of that, though, was that he hadn't done anything the whole day and then had to go very last. Talk about pressure, mate.

Tonight was Aaron Peirsol's medal debut. I really like him. He's really laid back--doesn't even shave before prelim races--but he still gets it done when it really matters. Even in this race he had a not-too-great start, and then pulled ahead the last 25 meters. He's a cool dude. He's like the Bode Miller of swimming.

Phelps got his third gold in the 200 freestyle. He makes it looks so easy--he was a body length ahead for the whole second half of the race. It's no wonder he's interviewed so often, but the interviewers always ask him the same questions. "How did you do it?" "What were you thinking?" "How did you pull through?" He usually manages to give pretty interesting answers, though. I guess he's just used to it by now.

I can't go without mentioning any females... Natalie Coughlin won gold in the 100m backstroke, which was extra cool 'cause she was the first to ever defend the title, and subsequently the first to win it twice.

Take that, France!

The US 4x100m freestyle swim team had an AMAZING race against France. The French team had been talking some trash before the race about us, but we ended up beating them by 8/10 of a second! Jason Lezak's last leg was the fastest relay split ever--we were almost a full body legth behind and he caught up right at the end! I watched it with my dad, grandparents, aunt, and uncle and we all cheered when it happened. The faces on Phelps and the other teammates were PRICELESS! It was hilarious. NBC showed the replay a million times and it never got old. Woohoo!

That was the most exciting part of the day, but it was also nice to see the US basketball team beat China. It looks like "The Redeem Team" was named accurately.

I can't say as much for the Women's Gymnastics team, though. There was a lot of stepping out of bounds, falling off of bars, and landing badly. Shawn Johnson was the only girl who never made any big mistakes. It was cool to see them huddle up after it was all over, though. They were encouraging each other, saying that they got through it, it's only prelims, they can do better in the finals. It reminded me a lot of what we used to do before and after marching band performances in high school. They certainly had an off day, but they all have great attitudes and I think they'll be able to bounce back.

Another interesting event was the Women's Cycling Road Race. It started raining midway through the race and those skinny tires plus watery roads is not a good combo. A Korean cycler slipped and took down a bunch of others with her. I'm usually not that into cycling, but the increased difficulty of this race made it quite interesting, and regardless of how the majority of the race goes, the end is always exciting.

An interesting side note: there is apparently a Starbucks at the Great Wall of China. Lol.

Starting off on the right track.

Not surprisingly, Michael Phelps won his first medal. He's never been beating in the 400m Individual Medley before, so why should he now? I really hope he wins gold in his 7 remaining events, giving him the record for the most golds won in a single Olympics. Michael just seems like a really nice guy, and I love his mom! NBC showed footage of her going crazy and cheering him on for his last 100 meters. Quite entertaining. Another thing I found amusing was that they showed all the photographers there. Tons of guys packed along the sidelines, all with HUMONGOUS lenses on their cameras.

Dara Torres has an interesting story. She's a 41-year-old swimmer, and this is her 5th Olympics! She's an old woman in athlete years, the oldest Olympic swimmer ever, in fact. That doesn't mean she's not good, though! In the 400m freestyle relay she had the fastest split time of anyone.

We ended up sweeping all three medals in Women's Fencing. That was cool. Those matches go by so fast! I can't say I was surprised to learn that all three girls are from Ivy League schools. :P Anyway, it was the first time any country has swept the event, and the US is usually well-known for fencing, so that's an accomplishment. Also, Zagunis, who won gold, won it last time, as well.

I also watched some Men's Gymnastics. Major feats of strength those events are. The most interesting thing about it to me, though, is comparing the different styles of different countries. China's team is better than the US team in terms of consistancy, but their routines are safer. The US has athletes that go for more difficult moves for high points, but they aren't a sure thing. Alexander Artemev, for example, has a pommel horse routine that was crazy awesome, WAY more interesting than anything the Chinese or Japanese did, but he's hit and miss on whether he can pull it off.

Let the games begin!

The opening ceremonies were amazing. The Chinese really know their fireworks (they did, after all, invent them). I was severely impressed by how organized all of the performers were. It was even more of a spectacle than usual, probably because China is trying extra hard to prove themselves. I'm glad Bush went to see it, too. The Olympics give us all an excuse not to fight and not to worry about other issues. It's all about the sportsmanship and comeraderie.

Now for the next few weeks I'll be obsessed with watching as much Olympic footage as possible. NBC has an online option this year, which will most definitely make things much easier because I won't have to constantly work around the tv schedule.

The sports I'm most excited about seeing: Swimming (go Michael Phelps!), Track & Field, Gymnastics, Archery, Fencing, Tae Kwon Do, and Diving. I'll try to catch the end of baseball, softball, and tennis, as well. The rest I don't care about missing. I try to see as much as humanly possible for the Winter Olympics, but for the Summer Games I don't go quite as all out.

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

I saw The Dark Knight again today with Mom, but this time on an IMAX screen. Needless to say, it was awesome. Especially since some of the film (if not all?) was actually filmed in IMAX size, the long shots of Batman on top of buildings and such were beautiful. Also, I can't get over how cool the sonar stuff is.

I really like the direction the superhero genre is going these days. They're starting to examine the dark side of being a vigilante, the kind of person you have to become to be a hero, and the villians are creepier than ever (I wonder if it's possible for Heath Ledger to not get and Oscar for his Joker). It's more realistic (that is, in a fantasy world where superheroes exist). I can't wait for Watchmen to come out. Zack Snyder's got a lot of weight on his shoulders for that, but I think he can pull it off.

Hooray for dark and interesting character studies!

Yet another amazing Japanese animated film.

I watched Steamboy a couple nights ago. It pretty much blew the socks right off my feet. I was expecting it to be good, but it was simply amazing! The animation was like nothing I've ever seen, a beautiful combination of traditional and computer animation with a seemless look. The camera movement, and even the cuts, are more cinematic than what is seen in most animation. It is becoming more common now in computer animation, but Steamboy was made in 2004, so it was at the beginning of the movement, if that's what it turns into (I hope so). Computer animation is a great tool, but I definitely think it's starting to be overused, and I really prefer to see characters drawn traditionally because they're more fluid and facial expression is usually more well done (huge exception: Pixar).

The sound seems exceptionally good, too. I've only recently been noticing sound quality (like for the past year or so), and it's more important in animation in terms of making the action seem more really and drawing the audience into the story. Steamboy is most definitely an action-packed movie, and the soundscape is incredibly rich. Creaking metal, lots of water sounds. Mmmmm. I felt like I could eat it right up. Bottom line: it makes the film exciting.

I also fell in love with Steve Jablonsky's score. It's on par with those of big time epics. Along with the sound effects, it makes the action that much more exhilarating, and the themes are of my favorite kind: those you can listen to and enjoy without watching the movie. I really want the soundtrack.

One more thing. The story. Age-old themes, but conveyed in an interesting and unique way. The only failing of this movie for me was that the characters didn't have much time to develop because it was so plot heavy, and none of them went through much change. I'm a character person. My love of stories comes down to the examination of character, the human experience, growth, etc. Although the hero, Ray, is quite charming and the supporting cast have lots of personality, Steamboy is more of a social commentary than a character study. We never get too deep into anyone's head or heart, but the writing is excellent enough to still hint at each character's past while carrying the weight of the action like as though it were no feat at all.

I only saw the original (Japanese) version of the film, and the English language cast has some big names in it (Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, Patrick Stewart), so I'd definitely love to watch that one sometime soon. I'm more anxious, though, to watch more Katsuhiro Otomo films.

First entry!

I've been thinking that I want to blog regularly while I'm studying abroad next Spring (if that works out) so I won't have to send out update emails. I could just send one email with a link attached and whoever wants to read it can do so whenever he/she wants. Then I figured I might as well start now instead of waiting a few months, so here I am.

At first I was inspired by Neil Gaiman, who blogs multiple times a week. He never puts anything too terribly personal on there, at least not since I've been reading, and it's kinda neat to see what he's up to. And Aleithia is doing it, as well, while she's in Korea. (Although, Aleithia's blog was pretty regular before that, anyway.)

In any event, I'm most definitely not accustomed to posting on a regular basis, and for the most part, my posts on Xanga have been pretty boring. Starting now, however, I'm going to give it a go. I'll try to post fairly often on here during the upcoming semester, and hopefully it'll turn into enough of a habit to become second nature.

Truth be told, I have found that blogging can be somewhat therapeutic, like writing in a journal or diary (though a bit less personal), so I will most likely continue on whether I gain readers or not. I read somewhere that the best blogs are the specific ones, in which the writer has a primary topic but occasionally throws in a few random blurbs. Mine won't be like that. I'm just going to write whatever comes to mind that I find interesting. Rest assured there will be many, many movie reviews, and I'm sure I'll comment on books and music and politics and restaurants and whatever else I happen to form opinions about.

Bottom line: I'm really only doing it so that I can look back at it several years from now and see how much I've changed. That's always a good laugh.