First the Saints won the Super bowl and now the National Enquirer is in the running for a Pulitzer Prize. Looks like this is going to be one of those 'I'll be damned' years. My grandma loved the Enquirer and believed every word that was printed in it. She was on a fixed income and did not waste her small monthly check of anything. But she bought the Enquirer. And she pass it on to me when she finished with it. Most people think that real newspapers are sold on newsstands. The magazines you pick up at the supermarket checkout, alongside the chewing gum and all-capitals headlines and cheap paper that they're not to be taken seriously. You might learn, this week in the National Enquirer, for example, that Whitney Houston is "DYING!" — "SHE COLLAPSES after cocaine and booze binges" — but even if you buy it, you don't necessarily believe it. It's entertainment. Whether it's true or not is largely beside the point. It seems that is about to change. It might have come as a surprise last week to learn that the Pulitzer committee, bestowers of the world's most celebrated journalism awards, had stroked their chins, weighed the arguments, and concluded that the Enquirer will be eligible to be considered for their investigative reporting and national news reporting awards. The magazine's executive editor, Barry Levine, who just a few days previously had been telling Pulitzer committee-members that they needed "to get their heads out of the sand", was jubilant. "That persistence, that old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting that we exhibited on this story, (The John Edwards Scandal) at the end of the day, is what the Pulitzer committee recognised," he said, Maybe my grandma was on to something or maybe this is just an indication on how low the main stream media has gone with the slanted, bullshit they attempt to force feed their readers. Personally I hope the Enquirer wins.2/22/10
But The Pulitzer????
First the Saints won the Super bowl and now the National Enquirer is in the running for a Pulitzer Prize. Looks like this is going to be one of those 'I'll be damned' years. My grandma loved the Enquirer and believed every word that was printed in it. She was on a fixed income and did not waste her small monthly check of anything. But she bought the Enquirer. And she pass it on to me when she finished with it. Most people think that real newspapers are sold on newsstands. The magazines you pick up at the supermarket checkout, alongside the chewing gum and all-capitals headlines and cheap paper that they're not to be taken seriously. You might learn, this week in the National Enquirer, for example, that Whitney Houston is "DYING!" — "SHE COLLAPSES after cocaine and booze binges" — but even if you buy it, you don't necessarily believe it. It's entertainment. Whether it's true or not is largely beside the point. It seems that is about to change. It might have come as a surprise last week to learn that the Pulitzer committee, bestowers of the world's most celebrated journalism awards, had stroked their chins, weighed the arguments, and concluded that the Enquirer will be eligible to be considered for their investigative reporting and national news reporting awards. The magazine's executive editor, Barry Levine, who just a few days previously had been telling Pulitzer committee-members that they needed "to get their heads out of the sand", was jubilant. "That persistence, that old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting that we exhibited on this story, (The John Edwards Scandal) at the end of the day, is what the Pulitzer committee recognised," he said, Maybe my grandma was on to something or maybe this is just an indication on how low the main stream media has gone with the slanted, bullshit they attempt to force feed their readers. Personally I hope the Enquirer wins.
Maybe He's Bored With Koreans Too?
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Seconds before the biggest moment of his career, the excitement and adrenaline were finally too much for Apolo Anton Ohno. He couldn't hold it in any longer.
He yawned.
Television viewers were stunned by the American's apparently lackadaisical approach to the race, which would determine whether he would become the Winter Olympian with the most medals in U.S. history. (He did, with a bronze.)
British Open golf champion Stewart Cink even Tweeted that Ohno's action made him yawn, too, as he watched on TV.
Yet some sneaky investigation by Yahoo! Sports revealed there is madness behind Ohno's moribundity.
A friend of Ohno's – who asked not to be named because, er, "Apolo might not like it" – revealed that the yawning lets extra oxygen into his lungs in the seconds before bursting across the ice.
Ohno himself confirmed as much to Yahoo! Sports. "It makes me feel better," he said. "It gets the oxygen in and the nerves out."
He yawned.
Television viewers were stunned by the American's apparently lackadaisical approach to the race, which would determine whether he would become the Winter Olympian with the most medals in U.S. history. (He did, with a bronze.)
British Open golf champion Stewart Cink even Tweeted that Ohno's action made him yawn, too, as he watched on TV.
Yet some sneaky investigation by Yahoo! Sports revealed there is madness behind Ohno's moribundity.
A friend of Ohno's – who asked not to be named because, er, "Apolo might not like it" – revealed that the yawning lets extra oxygen into his lungs in the seconds before bursting across the ice.
Ohno himself confirmed as much to Yahoo! Sports. "It makes me feel better," he said. "It gets the oxygen in and the nerves out."
2/21/10
Quotes I Like
"Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you're alive, it isn't.
Richard Bach
"Give me a break! You could sell light switches to the Amish." Peter Burke
"Human spirit to rise up again & again to challenge the obstacles, odds & unforseen challenges. Anything is possible-believe-want-do! "
Apolo Ohno
"I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. " Stan Hall
"Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity." Dr. Matthew Links
"Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience." CJ Murray
"It's not stealing when rich men do it." Neal Caffery
"We all die of one disease . . . it's called time." Terrion Brossard
"All romance ends in disillusionment . . . or death." Lassiter from Psych
"You have a lot of rules for someone who doesn't play by them." Peter Burke
"If you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas." Mozzie
"Real life seems to have no plot." Ivy Burnett
"This shit ain't nothing but the thrill ride from hell." Lynn Sheffield (about life in general)
"Women need a reason to have sex, men just need a place." Billy Crystal
"Why does the Vatican have lightening rods?" Terrion Brossard
"There are a lot of waiting rooms in hell." Blant Belzac
Apolo Ohno
Apolo Ohno Breaks record for most metals in Winter Olympics.Apolo Ohno is used to being at the head of the pack in short-track speedskating. The 27-year-old has no regrets about giving himself another shot at the Olympics. "I'm glad I made the right decision," he said. "And that I'm here."
To this day, a lot of people think he jumped the gun in his first race in 2006.
Of course they do, right? It's the Olympics and it's Apolo Anton Ohno, and the guy has high drama embedded in his DNA.
It was the last night of competition at the 2006 Turin Winter Games. The curtain closer on a couple of weeks in Italy that had not gone well for Ohno or, for that matter, America.
The 500-meter sprint. This race — one and a quarter times around a track inside a hockey rink — is all about the start. Blink, you lose. High stakes, fried nerves. Chances at redemption. Twice, skaters in the pack of five — coiled up like Lycra-clad snakes at the start line — jumped the starter's gun.
So Ohno, being Ohno, figured now would be a good moment to "time the start."
"You know what? This is it, man!" he told himself. "I'm going to try to time this bad boy."
That, he did. When the starter's pistol cracked the third time, Ohno already had a half-stride on the pack. Sprinting with the calm dignity of a cat being chased by Dobermans, Ohno led from start to finish, blasting across the finish line to claim gold.
The feat, if it didn't save the Olympics for America, at least avoided the indignity of losing in the medal count to the Canadians. It was vintage Ohno.
"Honestly? I think I just timed it perfectly," he says, four years later. "If you watch it in slow-mo, it looks like I jumped," he insists. "If you watch it in regular I timed the start."
He laughs again.
"They didn't call it back, so ... "
Of course they do, right? It's the Olympics and it's Apolo Anton Ohno, and the guy has high drama embedded in his DNA.
It was the last night of competition at the 2006 Turin Winter Games. The curtain closer on a couple of weeks in Italy that had not gone well for Ohno or, for that matter, America.
The 500-meter sprint. This race — one and a quarter times around a track inside a hockey rink — is all about the start. Blink, you lose. High stakes, fried nerves. Chances at redemption. Twice, skaters in the pack of five — coiled up like Lycra-clad snakes at the start line — jumped the starter's gun.
So Ohno, being Ohno, figured now would be a good moment to "time the start."
"You know what? This is it, man!" he told himself. "I'm going to try to time this bad boy."
That, he did. When the starter's pistol cracked the third time, Ohno already had a half-stride on the pack. Sprinting with the calm dignity of a cat being chased by Dobermans, Ohno led from start to finish, blasting across the finish line to claim gold.
The feat, if it didn't save the Olympics for America, at least avoided the indignity of losing in the medal count to the Canadians. It was vintage Ohno.
"Honestly? I think I just timed it perfectly," he says, four years later. "If you watch it in slow-mo, it looks like I jumped," he insists. "If you watch it in regular I timed the start."
He laughs again.
"They didn't call it back, so ... "
So it was written: Ohno's fourth Olympic medal. Later that night, he would claim a fifth, in the team relay, tying him with speedskating legend Eric Heiden for the most medals won by a U.S. male Winter Olympian.
I'm glad I made the right decision," he says. "And that I'm here."
From the time he was 14, Apolo Anton Ohno has been many things to many people, but boring has never been one of them. His first Olympic medal was won as he crawled across the finish line, blood trailing from one thigh, in Salt Lake City in 2002.
There's a reason Ohno is the first guy you see when NBC starts endlessly pitching the 2010 Vancouver Games to the public. Lots of them, actually.
Ohno has grown, before our eyes, from a precocious inline-skate punk from Federal Way into a literal Olympics ambassador.
Easily lost in the footlights of his fame is that Ohno, a master of a sport requiring an uncommon marriage of power, finesse, reflex and smarts, is one of the remarkable athletes of his generation.
I'm glad I made the right decision," he says. "And that I'm here."
From the time he was 14, Apolo Anton Ohno has been many things to many people, but boring has never been one of them. His first Olympic medal was won as he crawled across the finish line, blood trailing from one thigh, in Salt Lake City in 2002.
There's a reason Ohno is the first guy you see when NBC starts endlessly pitching the 2010 Vancouver Games to the public. Lots of them, actually.
Ohno has grown, before our eyes, from a precocious inline-skate punk from Federal Way into a literal Olympics ambassador.
Easily lost in the footlights of his fame is that Ohno, a master of a sport requiring an uncommon marriage of power, finesse, reflex and smarts, is one of the remarkable athletes of his generation.
"I'm leaner than I've ever been, lighter than I've ever been," says Ohno, who lives in Seattle. "The other thing is, I love what I'm doing, more than I ever have in the past. I really do. This sport has not gotten any easier for me. In fact, it's gotten harder. But I love it."
Sometimes, he admits, he has to talk himself into it. That first workout of the day is hard to start. The third one is tough to finish. In between, Ohno in the past several months has frequently taken to the blogosphere, posting multiple daily affirmations on Facebook, Twitter and his Web page.
"Tired, but still pushing on," he tweeted Jan. 29. "Many distractions right now — yet I'm staying on track."
"To be or not to be," he posted another time. "I'm about being better than yesterday. Post-2010, come train with me — I'll help you achieve your goals!"
Another day: "No distractions. Make a step in the rt direction 2day. Get in yr zone. Stay focused. Live now!"
It is manna to his many fans. But Ohno says all the sports-psych stuff is for his benefit, as well.
"It's almost like reiteration of what I want to feel like," he says. "It's almost like reminding myself, and motivating myself: 'Hey, look where you're at today. Look where you've got to go.' "
"Tired, but still pushing on," he tweeted Jan. 29. "Many distractions right now — yet I'm staying on track."
"To be or not to be," he posted another time. "I'm about being better than yesterday. Post-2010, come train with me — I'll help you achieve your goals!"
Another day: "No distractions. Make a step in the rt direction 2day. Get in yr zone. Stay focused. Live now!"
It is manna to his many fans. But Ohno says all the sports-psych stuff is for his benefit, as well.
"It's almost like reiteration of what I want to feel like," he says. "It's almost like reminding myself, and motivating myself: 'Hey, look where you're at today. Look where you've got to go.' "
Ohno gets mail almost daily from fans who tell him he has, in some way, changed their lives. He thinks to himself: "All I've really ever done is skate."
He plans to offer payback via a post-Games nutritional-supplement business venture, the 8Zone, which will incorporate the decade of sport science Ohno has absorbed. If the business is profitable, he plans to plow money back into Olympic sports, through sponsorships.
He plans to offer payback via a post-Games nutritional-supplement business venture, the 8Zone, which will incorporate the decade of sport science Ohno has absorbed. If the business is profitable, he plans to plow money back into Olympic sports, through sponsorships.
In the short term, however, the ice at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum is his sole focus.
"This is very special," he says of the Vancouver Games, the site of his first competitive races as a young teen. "It's special for my father, for me, for all my friends who are going to be there."
His course, near and far, is set. Unlike most Winter Olympians, Ohno has enough sponsorship money to keep him financially comfortable — and a career course is laid out before him. And he is savvy enough to relish every remaining step of what he always has referred to as a journey.
"When I'm done skating, I guarantee you that I will not look back and remember standing on the podium," he says, looking wistful. "I'm going to remember these days — being with the team. Training alone, in my basement. Training when everybody else is sleeping. Doing things that nobody else is doing. Digging down. Seeing what kind of character I truly have. I love that stuff."
.
"I've never prepared like this in my life — for anything," he says. "I want to leave nothing on the table."
"This is very special," he says of the Vancouver Games, the site of his first competitive races as a young teen. "It's special for my father, for me, for all my friends who are going to be there."
His course, near and far, is set. Unlike most Winter Olympians, Ohno has enough sponsorship money to keep him financially comfortable — and a career course is laid out before him. And he is savvy enough to relish every remaining step of what he always has referred to as a journey.
"When I'm done skating, I guarantee you that I will not look back and remember standing on the podium," he says, looking wistful. "I'm going to remember these days — being with the team. Training alone, in my basement. Training when everybody else is sleeping. Doing things that nobody else is doing. Digging down. Seeing what kind of character I truly have. I love that stuff."
.
"I've never prepared like this in my life — for anything," he says. "I want to leave nothing on the table."
2/16/10
2/14/10
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