RUNNING AND GUNNING

Pop Life is still packing up our worldy possessions into 1.5 square boxes, getting high off packing tape fumes. Thank goodness for 24 hour Olympic coverage - filling our home with screams and groans besides our own whines of "goddamn, where am I going to put this box?"

It's a wonder to me that volleyball isn't televised more. This is a game that moves faster than hockey, basketball, baseball and football; that requires incredible team and individual coordination; and that basically puts players face to face, with a 50mph+ ball being slammed into their grill. It's like tennis but with better ralllies and more thigh. Word to Toshi Yoshida.

I enjoy watching gymnastics and ice skating but what I find problematic with both sports is how much they demand absolute, unforgiving perfection. Most other sports allow for even their greatest athletes to have moments where they're off but gymnastics, for example, has zero room for error in exercises which seem deliberately designed to throw you off. I admire the fortitude of these athletes but frankly, I don't envy the mental anguish they must sustain in evaluating their own performances.

Actually, I don't envy the fact that they have to deal with Tim Dagget's wind-bag commentary either. Where's John Tesh when you need him?

Golden Bear Natalie Coughlin is golden in the 100M backstroke. Roll on!

Why am I not surprised to learn that the entire U.S. Badminton team is comprised by Asian Americans? Yeah, we in there...well, until we lost that is.

Someone needs to explain Olympic handball to me. It's basically soccer, crossed with basketball, and about a quarter as interesting as either. Now, if this was more like dodgeball, I'd be all into it.

Am I the only one not expecting to hear Usher's "Yeah" to introduce the 3m men's synchronized diving finals? Damn, Lil Jon is everywhere. But hey - Greeks got their first gold: hey, ho!

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IN OTHER NEWS

Funkdigi reports on The Republican attempt to court black voters. Going after Kerry's wife for being an Afrikaaner is wicked ill but does anyone really think that black voters are really going to go with the GOP? Especially with Obama batting .400 for the Demos these days?

Just in time for Halloween this year: Pimp and Ho costumes...for kids. So wrong on so many, many levels.
(credit: hiphopmusic.com)

iKub

Coolfer is mega-hot right now.

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BY THE WAY

Just for the record, I called this in the Morning News Roundtable on audioblogging when I wrote:

"I’m almost positive we’re going to see the development of the audio-blog equivalent to VH1’s Best Week Ever, which is either a blog masquerading as a TV show or a TV show masquerading as a blog. Either way, it represents the assimilation of the blog format into mainstream media. Sooner or later, a record label or maybe a publicity company is going to get really bright and create an audio blog that corresponds to the artists in their employ."