The Sporting Life

Now, where was I? Damn, these Olympics have really cut into my blog time. And speaking of the Olympics, I hope you managed to catch the air rifle competition last week. I know, it sounds dull, but believe me, it was anything but.

Imagine taking a BB gun and hitting a target the size of a nickel from 10 meters away. Then imagine having to hit the center of the target, an area no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence, with just the naked eye (no scopes allowed) to get a score good enough to stay in the competition. Then imagine hitting that period from 10 meters away on a consistent enough basis to win the competition. I know the word is overused, but it was amazing. I couldn't believe anyone could even see the target, let alone hit it, let alone dot the i as it were, and you have to wonder how anyone could ever get that good with a BB gun. Mom and dad buy you a BB gun one day when you're a kid and you just keep practicing, and practicing, and practicing, and pretty soon there you are going for the gold at the Olympics.

Amazing.


I Love a Mystery

If y0u haven't read The DaVinci Code yet then congratulations, you're probably the only person in America who hasn't. I thought I was the only person who hadn't read it, but I finally broke down and gave it a read, and all I've got to say is geez, just what we need is another conspiracy theory. I mean I haven't even finished digesting the JFK assassination, Area 54, or the whole flat earth thing yet and, uh-oh, here we go again.

I don't want to get into the details but this definitely has to be the mother of all conspiracies. I guess it all falls into the category of the "big whopper" - you know, the taller the tale, the more believable it becomes. And believe me, this is one tall tale. Yet there I was turning page after page, itching to find out what happens next, ready for the next mind-blowing revelation, sucking it all in just like everybody else. Shows how sophisticated I am.

But it's obvious, really, why people keep falling for this stuff. Just start with some sort of mystery, real or imagined, add some sketchy evidence and unsupported conclusions, say a few abracadabra's, and then take a blind leap of faith into the world of simple answers and presto - you've got yourself one satisfying read. And it is satisfying, much more so than taking a realistic look at things and trying to come up with some sort of reality-based explanation. I mean, would you rather read a Stephen Hawking book about string theory and quantum mechanics with concepts so obtuse that it would take you a lifetime of study to understand them, or would you rather read a Dan Brown book that explains something like the Holy Grail mystery with simple certitude in terms that any child could understand.

I rest my case.


The Opera Ain't Over Till The ...

Just one more thing, and then I gotta get back to the Olympics. There was an article in the paper yesterday about a theater director named Gerald Thomas who it seems got a little upset with the patrons after a performance of Tristan und Isolde down in Rio de Janeiro. According to the article, there were a few boos when the final curtain came down, so aftewards Thomas went out on the stage, dropped his pants, and proceeded to moon the audience. Turns out it caused quite a stir, and luckily for Thomas the Supreme Court finally decided to toss out the obscenity charges against him. But you know what I think? I think this story just points out the biggest difference between going to the symphony and going to the opera. I mean, can you just imagine someone like Michael Tilson Thomas walking out on stage and mooning the audience after a performance of the Mahler 5. No, you can't, can you. That sort of thing could only happen in an Opera House.

God, I love opera!