Paris Olympics

Anybody else see the women’s triathlon finish? Here’s the backstory, from over a year ago:

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Gwen Jorgensen pulled away on the final lap of the run to cross the finish line, far ahead of second place. In front of cheering crowds on the Copacabana Beach, she won the U.S. its first Olympic gold medal in triathlon and broke into tears. She was the most dominant woman triathlete in history.

This past November, two kids and more than six years later, Jorgensen set out to make her return to the sport. She ran one minute, then walked for five. Later, she rode 20 minutes on a stationary bike, pleasantly surprised with how good she felt. She decided she was going to go for it.

Today the 38-year-old mom of two won the gold medal, finishing 40 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. It was exciting to watch. Gwen and the other runner, from Sweden (I think) ran literally side by side for the final mile or two. It was clear Gwen was going to pull away–the other runner was clearly struggling. In contrast, Gwen was calm and relaxed, with a pleasant poker face, then she finally began to grin about 5 steps from the finish. Then she broke down in tears. The Olympics at their best, especially for American homers like me.

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I love Olympics, especially the less known sports and their athletes. Most train while holding down a regular job, with very little fanfare. Sure, if they medal, they might get 30 seconds of fame and perhaps a little more sponsor money.

The fighting spirits of those athletes and the sportsmanship get to me the most. Unlike football, basketball, soccer, etc, these less-known athletes work at least just as hard, and it’s just their drive and them.

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It’s two weeks to watch sports and party. For my German friends it’s letting them get a rolling head start on Oktoberfest.

My Japanese friends are watching between sets at the Fuji Rock Festival. The lodge at Mt. Naeba has the TV’s cranking the videos from the games while the stages have music. 100,000 people are in Yuzawa Town for the next two weeks.

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You guys haven’t lived until you’ve experienced Olympic Cat Juggling live !

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I do “hate” all the carrying and traveling in basketball. If you can’t crossover someone without carrying, then you got no skills. A bunch of BS.

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@SkinyUte:
Who Was the Heavy Metal Band at Opening Ceremony? That Was Gojira. - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/article/opening-ceremony-heavy-metal-band-gojira.html

Park City’s Haley Batten took the silver in women’s cross country mountain biking. Highest U.S. finisher ever, in mountain biking.

My son raced the Utah NICA high school mountain bike league when she was at PCHS. She would absolutely dominate the races, winning by several minutes. By the time she was a senior she was basically too good for the HS races & was sponsored. She skipped the NICA races her senior year because the fall was her off season, after racing nationally all summer.

I met her a few times, very nice & kind person. Super happy for her.

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Most elite athletes are usually pretty cool, a few exceptions across sports. Obviously I’m a bit biased toward cyclists. Cycling is one of the rare sports where you can get up close to the athletes, and see what they can be like.

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And they were epic.

Never thought I’d see a death metal band on a world stage like that, and they went hard. It was awesome.

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Same with Nordic Skiers. Pretty much a paper bag lunch crowd.

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This graph was provided in the tweet to which Cox was responding.
I find these figures interesting. I assumed Utah would be higher.

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Not surprised. LDS activity rate in Utah is between 35-40%. Worldwide about 25%. These estimates are from some former/current professors at BYU-Idaho who follow this stuff.

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Very entertaining men’s mountain bike final this morning with an exciting finish.

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Clearly you don’t understand the self-punishment aspect of shopping on Saturdays in Utah.

Saturday is a special day, it’s the day we get ready for Sunday…

Nowadays: “Hey mom, remember that time you cut off that guy parking at Costco and then you flipped him off? That was awesome, mom!

That factor alone will suppress church attendance rates in Utah.

Sunday is much more relaxing, people treat each other kindly. Shopping on Saturdays in Utah turns good people into New Yorkers.

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I generally find these sorts of statistical questions to be misleading because of self-selection bias. I will say by general observation Utah rolls a lot like the Bible Belt sans the multitude of Evangelical ministers selling different views of Jesus (though we are starting to see more of them).

I shop Saturdays at stores that sell the consumer discretionary stuff. They tend to be less hectic and more relaxed.

Who am I kidding? This is Utah, where everyone needs to just chill out and watch Bob Ross paint happy trees. :wink:

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From what I have been able to find out, this is the painting they were trying to portray at the opening ceremonies. If this is the case, all the pearl clutching by our local politico’s needs to stop. It’s called ‘The Feast of the Gods,’ by Jan Harmensz van Biljert (1635)
May be an image of 6 people

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Give me a dancin’ satyr any day, sir.

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fwiw…

"Dearest Gentle Reader,

I’m about to step on some toes in regard to the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics.

The headless woman was Marie Antoinette. She ruled over France and was found guilty of treason, conspiracy, and stealing from the country.

Sound familiar?

Also, it was not the Last Supper. It was a depiction of an ancient Greek Bacchanal… because, you know, the Olympics are ancient and Greek. Surprise!

And if you didn’t know, a Bacchanalia is an uncontrollably promiscuous, extravagant, and loud party. The parties often spanned several days which honored the god of wine, Bacchus (the blue guy covered in grape vine). He is also known as Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility, later known as the god of wine and pleasure.

And finally, it was not Death on a pale horse. It was Sequana, Goddess of the Seine, the River in which the boat precession took place. She was meant to be the representation of the Olympic spirit and of Sequana.

If some of you weren’t so busy trying to end the Dept. of Education, you might know this.

Loosen the clutch on your pearls.

Yours truly,

Lady Francis

••••••

“Paris is back on its feet, jubilant, flamboyant, creative and open. Free,” - Thomas Jolly, the artistic director.

••••••

EDIT ✍🏼

Art is free thinking. You’re allowed to interpret it differently from others. Art is expressive in nature, it involves creativity and imagination. Art evokes emotion. 🖤

I never thought my post, or views on what I had researched for myself, would go viral.

I hope that if you’re reading this, that you do your own research. You do not have to agree with me. What a boring world this would be if we all thought the same! In America, we have the freedom to share our views and opinions- but they are not without consequences. All I ask, is that you’re kind to one another.

You can share your information without threatening remarks, death threats, and crude candor.

Please read the following article translated from French to English."

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You went Full Bridgerton!!! YOU NEVER GO FULL BRIDGERTON!!! :wink:

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Ole’

(Going back to see what the supremely educated Snoop can rhyme about)

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