Torah Bright won silver medal in the halfpipe, Sochi.
I love the internet.
Sometimes I tire of looking at the screen, though.
I was happier before the internet.
This evening I turned off the computer to watch the Olympics. I was waiting for the figure skating pairs.
First there was the snowboarders’ halfpipe.
“Torah Bright with a 93 sets the standard here,” a reporter said.
Torah Bright, 27, the Australian defending gold medalist, won the silver tonight. There is always a story about a defending gold medalist: Bright crashed during her first halfpipe run in Vancouver four years ago, then came back in the second to win gold. This time she crashed and came back to win silver. So many news segments about defending gold medalists–and then we’re despondent if they don’t win, as in the case of Shani Davis, the American speed skater.
I wish I were a snowboarder. It looks like fun.
I am not athletic. I can do your basics: walk, bicycle, run. My husband gave me cross-country skis and snowshoes. I could not even stand up on the skis.
And I couldn’t even stay upright when I walked to the library this afternoon. I was reasonably warm in my parka, I was carrying a big cup of coffee, I had actually left the house without R.E.M. on my portable CD player, so I could think my own thoughts…
…and then I fell on the ice.
I was very annoyed that I spilled my coffee. I brushed the dirty snow off the top, washed the lid at the library, and went home intending to transfer the contents to another cup.
Fortunately my husband was driving home and stopped to pick me up so I didn’t have to fall on the ice again.
AND THEN BLIMEY!
I found a mistake in a scatty article, “The 10 Worst Couples in Literature,” in The Guardian.
Why bother with a trivial article?
But look at this line:
“…Anna and Vronsky would have had life a lot easier if they had just stuck to their marital partners – Anna especially.”
Yes, Anna especially, because Vronsky wasn’t married.
Now perhaps the writer is an idiot, or perhaps it’s the copy editor, but it is a good idea to read Anna Karenina before you decide both Anna and Vronksy have “marital partners.” Do they mean spouses?
mirabile dictu 
Please don’t fall on the ice. That’s how you break your bones. Here we talk about “black ice.” So far as I’m concerned, the ice you don’t see (until too late) is very black indeed.
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They really *should* read the book before making sweeping statements….!
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Yes, Nancy, I hate ice! It has finally warmed up a bit, the snow and ice were melting, and there was no ice at all until I reached one particular street (and I think someone had not shoveled all winter in front of the house, judging from the thickness of ice). Falling is painful and it is very dangerous.
Karen, I know! I thought this was the craziest thing. Not like the English newspapers…:)
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Good catch on Vronsky. It has been so long since I read Anna Karenina I didn’t know if Vronsky was married or not.
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Really, Tony, I was shocked! It might be the writer, or it might be a copy editor who thought it cute. But my guess is that the writer was cheating and hadn’t read the book.
Of course I have no idea about their editorial policies, but somebody allowed this to go through.
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