Olympic Fever
Yeah, I admit it. I got it. Husband and I are both huge Olympic fans (although we'll have to decided between watching the Olympics and watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show). We've been glued to the TV all weekend and will continue to be obsessed until they put out the torch.

We're not all "USA! USA!" about it. We'll root for the underdog. We love it when some athlete from, say, Moldova, wins their country's first winter medal. We're all about the competition. Whoever seems to work the hardest or gives the best performance is the guy we'll be pulling for.

Our favorite sport is biathlon -- the cross-country skiing, stopping to shoot, sport. Based upon its military history, it makes perfect sense. But when you take it apart, it seems insane. Like swimming and then stopping to play badminton. How they do it is beyond me. They ski flat out and get all exhausted and then suddenly stop, slow their breathing and heart rate somehow, and blow away five targets.

We're not so fond of the "extreme" sports, but we'll watch pretty much anything.

And the coverage so far? Iffy. I am already sick of the Dreamworks movie ads where they try to tie the Olympics into their upcoming film. And there are a few commercials that make me lunge for the mute button. The sports themselves are OK, but again overdone with the "tragic athlete we're going to focus on with the dead grandmother whose parents had to sell their blood to send kid to the games" stories. But that's to be expected. We were a little pissed on Saturday when the women's biathlon coverage go 6 1/2 minutes (we timed out) out of a four hour broadcast. But apparently biathlon isn't a commercial sport. I suppose if we want fuller coverage we'll need to move to Norway.

In other news, our book group meets tonight. One of the highlights of the month. Sadly tonight's gathering will be thin due to illness, a rehearsal conflict, and a visit from distant family. I think there will only be five of us. But there will be lively talk, some yummy cheese, good friends and, in honor of the Olympics, Nanaimo Bars.