Weird

I know I'm a few days behind on this, but George Carlin passed away on Sunday. I have to admit that I never really knew much about him, but he was incredibly funny, and it's odd to me that I JUST quoted him here. May he rest in peace.

Team America

I didn't watch much of the 2004 Olympics, even the gymnastics, because I was pretty busy. I was getting married and going on my honeymoon for the bulk of the games. Watching the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials this weekend made me realize how far I've wandered from the sport of gymnastics, and how much I've missed it!

The scoring system is completely overhauled, which will make Jeremy happy, but pretty simple to understand. I like it. I miss the days of the 10-point scale, but I do think this new system works better. Also changed is the way the Olympic event will be run. In the qualifying first round, five of the six ladies will compete on each event, and four of the scores will count, to qualify the USA into the team finals. The scores from this round will also qualifty two Americans into the all-around final, and individuals can qualify into the event finals. In the final round of team competition, only three Americans will compete in each event, and all the scores will count.

The American team will consist of six women, two of whom were named Sunday night after the trials (Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, above). The remaining four athletes will be chosen at a Marta Karolyi's training camp over the next two weeks. 12 ladies were given invitations to the camp. Most analysts (and I) agree that five of the six spots are spoken for. Marta will choose the sixth.

As for the team, my projections are below. Places 1 through 3 on each event will compete in the team final. Places 4 and 5 will compete in the qualifier. This means we have three competitors for the all-around competition (Johnson, Liukin, and Memmel). Alicia Sacramone is my favorite, but I know Shawn Johnson has the best chances at gold medals and is about as rock-solid as possible with a gymnast. Nastia Liukin, pictured above, is my favorite gymnast to watch, and she is probably the best in the world on uneven bars. However, she seems to be a little bratty in interviews, so who knows. What's not in doubt is that these women are GOOD. The Americans are the reigning World Champions, so they should medal, and have a shot at gold.

VAULT

1. Shawn Johnson

2. Alicia Sacramone

3. Samantha Peszek

4. Nastia Liukin

5. Chellsie Memmel

UNEVEN BARS

1. Nastia Liukin

2. Chellsie Memmel

3. Jana Bieger

4. Shawn Johnson

5. Samantha Peszek

BALANCE BEAM

1. Shawn Johnson

2. Nastia Liukin

3. Chellsie Memmel

4. Alicia Sacramone

5. Samantha Peszek

FLOOR EXCERSICE

1. Shawn Johnson

2. Alicia Sacramore

3. Samantha Peszek

4. Chellsie Memmel

5. Nastia Liukin

Jana Bieger is the wild card spot that Marta Karolyi will have to choose. The reason I picked her is because each team on the floor is required to have at least one female coach. The five who are most likely to be on the team (Johnson, Liuken, Memmel, Peszek, Sacramone) all have male coaches. Bieger is very consistent at bars and one of the few with a female coach (her mom). So she definitely has that going for her.

Another interesting thing about this team is their international ties. Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, was born in China and will bring his star athlete back to his hometown in search of medals. Liukin was born in Russia and raised in Texas by her father and coach, Valeri, who won two gold medals for Russia in the 1988 games. Jana Bieger is German-born, raised and coached by her mother, Andrea, who competed in the 1976 Olympics for West Germany. Peszek also has a coach from Beijing - Peter Zhao.

Sorry if that was boring for a lot of you - as you can tell, I'm into it. I'll be watching with bated breath on 8-8-08. Go Team!

My impressions of Canada

My sister, Corrie, and I went to Vancouver, B.C. for four days for a little road-trip/vacation. It was relaxing and fascinating to really tour this town that I lived an hour from for four years but never really went there. I feel like I got a good overall impression of the City, and here's my take on the tourist stops.

Granville Island: Very fun! Lots of art galleries, things for kids, and great food.

Yaletown: Upscale boutiques, lots of restaurants and bars, a great stop.

Gastown: Okay, but go before 6 p.m., when everything shuts down.

Stanley Park: Beautiful and huge. Wear your hiking shoes.

Chinatown: Skip this one. It was the grungiest Chinatown I've ever seen. And creepy bums EVERYWHERE.

Robson Street: They call it "Rodeo Drive North," which is ridiculously untrue, but this is like a crowded outdoor mall. Great stores at all price-points. Very fun.

Other observations about Canada:

1) Since our dollar is worth almost exactly the same as theirs, things are MUCH more expensive in Canada right now. Example: $13 movie ticket, $5.40 for a gallon of gas.

2) They really do say "Eh." All the time.

3) Vancouver Canadians love their dogs. Doggie shops, doggie parks, doggie restaurants everywhere!

4) Loonies and Toonies ($1 and $2 coins) are heavy and very inconvenient.

5) Canucks are very protective of their "culture." Every 3rd song on the radio has to be by a Canadian. Basically they don't want to be completely taken over by French and American culture. They are trying really hard to maintain a sense of patriotism and national custom.

6) Vancouver has work to do before they host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The biggest issue is the elderly bums. They look like they could lie down and die on the street, and there are TONS of them. And trust me, they are not shy about begging for money. It's unlike anything I've ever seen - worse than China.

Here are photos of us at Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Memorial Garden, the Cirque Du Soleil tents, and someone advertising for Obama - dont' know whose vote they are aiming to get, but whatever!

Before amber waves of grain - waves of green!

June is my favorite time of year to drive around the Palouse. Yes, the rolling hills of wheat are gorgeous in July and August right before they're harvested, but I like them in June becuase they look like this:
I love when the wind blows and the wheat looks like water. Also, since wheat prices were so high last year, it was really exciting for the area - the wheat farmers had huge windfalls and all bought new field equipment - the local John Deere lot could barely keep up. My favorite part of this story is that the old equipment gets donated and recycled to 3rd-world countries to help them with their agriculture. Pretty neat, huh? Oh beautiful for spacious skies!!

Jingle Bells

For the record, I do not tolerate snow on the ground in mid-June. I will be writing my congressman about this at once.

I understand that a little snowfall in June is just one of those quirky eastern Washington things that happens every year and makes this area so unique. What I do NOT understand is when that quirky snowfall actually develops into snow on the ground.

I haven't had the heat on in my house for over four weeks, and I refuse to turn it on now, even if my house is 59 degrees. Apparently I need my parka outside anyway, so I'll just wear it indoors as well.

Speaking of parkas, as I left my house this morning, the kids at Sunnyside Elementary were at morning recess, and they were all bundled up in their snow boots, parkas, and gloves, building snowmen. Did I mention this is the last week of school for them?? They should be picking flowers and playing soccer.

Fresh and Fabulous

One of my favorite things about living in Pullman is that we are only 10 miles away from the Moscow Farmer's Market. (That's "Mos-coe," Idaho, as opposed to "Mos-cow," Russia.) The market runs every Saturday from May to October, has live music, and is usually PACKED. Right now it's mostly starters for things like tomatoes and lilacs, but there is some fresh produce and flowers, and it will get better and better all the way through October - culminating in apples, potatoes, gourds, and peppers! I took some pictures this week, and I'll post more on here as the summer goes on.

I'd say there were at least 30 tubs of these irises.

Sweet William - $5 a bunch, otherwise known as "Stinky Bill."

Beautiful, organic bok choy and radishes.

This is the booth where we buy all our bread in the summer, and a yummy pastry every Saturday morning. They usually have a line between 10 and 50 people long.

They no longer allow dogs in the food area of the market (understandable), but Reggie loves to come anyway. There's tons of dogs there and they even have a doggie drinking fountain. I'll take photos of it next time.

The market is also full of craftsmen who make things like these windchimes. The one on the left is made out of old silverware, and the ones on the right are formed around huge marbles.

Sex and the City

I've watched some Sex and the City over the years, so when the movie was set to come out, I thought "Sure, I'll go see that." Last night, my girlfriends from work had a girls night out, and we went to see the SATC Movie.

I'm definitely used to the "TBS version" of the show - no sex, no nudity, no f-bombs. Boy, am I glad I had read a review before I went to see this one! I had been forewarned that this was definitely the "HBO version," and also that it was WAY too long (2 1/2 hours).

THE GOOD: The movie was cute, I thought it tied up plot lines very well, and I had a good time. The themes of the movie were interesting (abandonment, lonliness, keeping your partner happy) and it was one of the most colorful movies I've seen in a long time. The humor in this film really is great - it had me laughing a couple of times. Oh, and Jennifer Hudson was a GREAT addition. She added a more realistic, down-to-earth human element.
THE BAD: First of all, the length. I could have chopped at least 30 minutes out. I got tired of the women flaunting their extravagant lifestyles, which are pretty unrealistic and make normal people look poor. Also I got annoyed at the women in the theater who (1) cackled loudly at all the semi-funny jokes, (2) said "Whoo Hoo!!" at all the nudity, and (3) said "Awww..." way too much.

I went with 7 ladies I know, some of whom have never seen the show before, and everyone enjoyed the movie. Definitely a fun night with the girls!!