Artistic Swimming looks like one of the hardest sports. I timed how long they were underwater, and it's nearly 30 seconds all while working hard and precisely. Apparently the injury rate is really high also. It looks absurdly difficult.
My MiL joined a synchronized swim team at the California retirement community where she and her husband lived. She loved it and it was good, non-stressful exercise. They were even featured in a commercial for Long John Silver's!
I am of the opinion that if you need a judge to tell you who won - IT IS NOT A SPORT. It may be physically demanding, but it's still NOT A SPORT. Exceptions will be allowed for Gymnastics and Figure Skating - PROVIDED you don't see the terms "Artistic", "Rhythmic", or "Dancing" anywhere in the name.
How is this less sporty than gymnastics? Surfing, skateboarding, BMX, they all are judged. I don't see a big difference between figure skating and BMX except no one is judging the riders' clothing, which seems even less sport-like.
I wonder about golf vs billiards or darts. Those all seem more like games of skill than sports.
Referees, linesmen, etc. are there to see that the rules are followed - i.e., everyone starts when they're supposed to and not early, they stay in their designated lanes if applicable and don't take shortcuts, equipment such as "hammers" (how can you hammer anything with those? and javalins meet specifications, etc.
Otherwise, if the results are based on measurable tasks like who jumps the highest or who covers a given course the fastest or who lifts the heaviest weights, IMHO it's a sport. If style points are involved, it's not. Thus track and field events, swimming, downhill skiing (even that weird BMX-inspired version of skiing where some competitors cross the finish line on their rear ends, having lost their skis along the way) are sports.
But that's what the judges also do. Just because the rules and points they are enforcing is anathema to how you view a sport doesn't mean its not a sport. Style points are given in ski jumping so is that not a sport? In boxing effective aggression and how well you block and land punches is basically an opinion on style by the judges.
The hammer throw's legend goes back to 2000 bc and is Celtic in origin.
"The exact origins of the hammer throw are a mystery to modern historians.[citation needed] According to legend, at the Tailteann Games in Tara, Ireland, as far back as 2000 BC the Celtic warrior Culchulainn took a chariot axle with a wheel still attached and spun it around and hurled it.[2] The wheel was later replaced by a rock with a wooden handle attached.[2] A sledgehammer began to be used for the sport in Scotland and England during the Middle Ages.[2] In current times, the hammer has changed to the more modern 7.26 kg ball attached to a wire and a handle, but the Scottish Highland Games still feature the older style of hammer throw with the rock and the solid wood handle. Today the Hammer throw is one of four throwing events featured in the Olympics alongside discus, shot put, and javelin."
While I think the Olympics are pretty corrupt, I'm not down with policing what's a sport. Not sure where you're coming from regarding your specific disqualifications.
Back in the days of the Soviet Union, we used to joke that the gymnasts from the USSR and their bloc got extra points just for being from there. American gymnast does a stellar routine with no obvious flaws? 9.1, maybe. Soviet gymnast falls off the bars, trips over own feet on the floor? 9.8. At least that was how it seemed. It was more obvious with figure skating, where the judges from each country had to hold up their scorecards.
We alternate dinner but he only buys for that dinner. But he’ll say “buy seltzer “ or “get a lunch “ when it’s my turn. Never asks if I want something when he goes. The one time I asked him to buy contact lens solution you would have thought he felled a mammoth.
Grinchy pony sez: I've been ignoring the Olympics as I have b been since forever. However, kudos for the team - I know how tough it is to even qualify at that level, never mind the chances of getting to the podium.
The story DOES motivate me to go to the town's splash pad later. Cheaper'n taking a shower at home.
I love water ballet! I haven't watched the gymnastics in years because there was almost no musicality, just tumbling with music on. This swimming was better. The choreography had some impactful moments, though I guess artistry still must take a back seat to athleticism when it's the Olympics. The swimmers themselves were amazing, clearly engaged with each other, moving as one. Maybe I will actually watch some "sports" on Monday.
I have to admit my knowledge of Jamaica and Jamaican heritage is pretty limited.
I know about the Beautiful Caribbean Island, Raggae music, Usain Bolt, Bobsled team, former home to many plantations using slave and indentured labor forces and people whose ancestry is rooted in that slave trade nightmare.
So thank you Ms. Harris for introducing me to your amazing father, an Emeritus Professor of Economics at Stanford University.
Waaay back in the eighties in upstate NY I had the honor to be the token white boy guitarist in a reggae band. Everyone else was Jamaican. I lasted five years in that outfit and I look back on those times with great happiness. I learned a little bit about Jamaican culture. Lots of fun!
I've gotten the chaos of the kitchen cabinet containing storage dishes, mixing bowls, miscellaneous measuring, sifting, and sieving containers cleaned out and properly organized. paul bought some new Pyrex storage bowls so I was finally able to retire a set of plastic containers that had seen better days to the recycling bin. A few respectful words were said over the expired, stained, dented, mismatched recyclable dishes as they were stacked for the last time.
Then I cleaned out the drawer where we keep foil, sandwich bags, saran wrap, and larger zip lock storage bags. For the life of my I do not know why paul felt it necessary to keep two empty storage bag boxes in there but they're now reposing within the recycling bin. The floor is thoroughly swept, the counters all scrubbed down, the sink cleaned and fresh, the recycling bin cleaned up and organized and under the sink scrubbed clean and sanitized. All that's left that I have to get done is attending to Ripper's cat-a-loo.
I hope like hell that it cools off enough to allow me to get the vacuuming done pretty soon. The stairs leading down to the lower level are a mess.
I had to get relentless and recycle a bunch of lidless containers (and container less lids) a while back. Weird how sad it makes you. 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant' and so on. Just as long as they aren't reborn as <shudders> Tupperware.
I bought a set at COSTCO like 10 years ago - because of frequent use - wore out the snap on lids - and just replaced several of the lids inexpensively - buying directly from Pyrex
Artistic Swimming looks like one of the hardest sports. I timed how long they were underwater, and it's nearly 30 seconds all while working hard and precisely. Apparently the injury rate is really high also. It looks absurdly difficult.
What's amazing is how natural and smiley and perfect Esther Williams face was underwater. Well and her routine was great too.
My mom was a synchronized swimmer in college. The sport has come a long way.
I demand the SNL synchronized swimming sketch with Martin Short! How dare you not include it!
Funniest ever!
I miss Pushing Daisies. Like Robyn, I will die mad that it was cancelled.
Their breath control is amazing. Wow.
Spit water into the air? What’s next?
There's nothing like a good spit take, especially with stemware.
And I'm just too blind to see when it happens, even though I watched it twice.
My MiL joined a synchronized swim team at the California retirement community where she and her husband lived. She loved it and it was good, non-stressful exercise. They were even featured in a commercial for Long John Silver's!
That was one weird Bait Ball right there....
I am of the opinion that if you need a judge to tell you who won - IT IS NOT A SPORT. It may be physically demanding, but it's still NOT A SPORT. Exceptions will be allowed for Gymnastics and Figure Skating - PROVIDED you don't see the terms "Artistic", "Rhythmic", or "Dancing" anywhere in the name.
How is this less sporty than gymnastics? Surfing, skateboarding, BMX, they all are judged. I don't see a big difference between figure skating and BMX except no one is judging the riders' clothing, which seems even less sport-like.
I wonder about golf vs billiards or darts. Those all seem more like games of skill than sports.
0 0 0 0 0
Didn't the original Olympic Games also feature theatrical performances, poetry contests and the like?
Not that very first modern games, but with 10 years there was poetry, architecture, painting, etc.nfor a while.
Oh, you are just gonna 𝑙𝑢𝑣 breakdancing! https://olympics.com/en/news/breaking-paris-2024-olympics-preview-full-schedule-how-to-ewatch-live
I am gonna love it
I can't wait
https://youtu.be/0rXS7q9zS90?si=xSgmlleovYfaHTwx
So boxing isn't a sport? or is it just when its knockouts? How about photo finishes?
How do you feel about referees? umpires? linesmen?
Referees, linesmen, etc. are there to see that the rules are followed - i.e., everyone starts when they're supposed to and not early, they stay in their designated lanes if applicable and don't take shortcuts, equipment such as "hammers" (how can you hammer anything with those? and javalins meet specifications, etc.
Otherwise, if the results are based on measurable tasks like who jumps the highest or who covers a given course the fastest or who lifts the heaviest weights, IMHO it's a sport. If style points are involved, it's not. Thus track and field events, swimming, downhill skiing (even that weird BMX-inspired version of skiing where some competitors cross the finish line on their rear ends, having lost their skis along the way) are sports.
But that's what the judges also do. Just because the rules and points they are enforcing is anathema to how you view a sport doesn't mean its not a sport. Style points are given in ski jumping so is that not a sport? In boxing effective aggression and how well you block and land punches is basically an opinion on style by the judges.
The hammer throw's legend goes back to 2000 bc and is Celtic in origin.
"The exact origins of the hammer throw are a mystery to modern historians.[citation needed] According to legend, at the Tailteann Games in Tara, Ireland, as far back as 2000 BC the Celtic warrior Culchulainn took a chariot axle with a wheel still attached and spun it around and hurled it.[2] The wheel was later replaced by a rock with a wooden handle attached.[2] A sledgehammer began to be used for the sport in Scotland and England during the Middle Ages.[2] In current times, the hammer has changed to the more modern 7.26 kg ball attached to a wire and a handle, but the Scottish Highland Games still feature the older style of hammer throw with the rock and the solid wood handle. Today the Hammer throw is one of four throwing events featured in the Olympics alongside discus, shot put, and javelin."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_throw
But, can I watch, just for Inspiration?
While I think the Olympics are pretty corrupt, I'm not down with policing what's a sport. Not sure where you're coming from regarding your specific disqualifications.
Back in the days of the Soviet Union, we used to joke that the gymnasts from the USSR and their bloc got extra points just for being from there. American gymnast does a stellar routine with no obvious flaws? 9.1, maybe. Soviet gymnast falls off the bars, trips over own feet on the floor? 9.8. At least that was how it seemed. It was more obvious with figure skating, where the judges from each country had to hold up their scorecards.
Husband came home last night and was mad about something—I asked and he wouldn’t say.
I assume it was that I didn’t get him his seltzer water, but I was tired and didn’t go to the store.
I buy him water all the time, plus snacks that he gets to eat while I am at work. He never buys stuff to have around.
Now I’m lingering at work because I don’t want to deal if he’s still in a mood.
Hi Babe. He's probably working out some hard to understand male thing...
We all know you are amazing so he probably is too...give him some time....
Hugs
Is your husband a dog or a cat?
Asking for a friend
.
i don't know your story my friend, but if you are not his caregiver, this seems like his responsibility to me...
YES! My absurdist point. Like, I don't know these people, or you
Roll with it.
I know.
We alternate dinner but he only buys for that dinner. But he’ll say “buy seltzer “ or “get a lunch “ when it’s my turn. Never asks if I want something when he goes. The one time I asked him to buy contact lens solution you would have thought he felled a mammoth.
He had to chip that shopping basket out of solid flint!
That ocular department is treacherous.
Grinchy pony sez: I've been ignoring the Olympics as I have b been since forever. However, kudos for the team - I know how tough it is to even qualify at that level, never mind the chances of getting to the podium.
The story DOES motivate me to go to the town's splash pad later. Cheaper'n taking a shower at home.
I love water ballet! I haven't watched the gymnastics in years because there was almost no musicality, just tumbling with music on. This swimming was better. The choreography had some impactful moments, though I guess artistry still must take a back seat to athleticism when it's the Olympics. The swimmers themselves were amazing, clearly engaged with each other, moving as one. Maybe I will actually watch some "sports" on Monday.
I'd like to see the water ballet happen under the 10 meter diving platform.
"We now have to dive into the circle of bodies below?!*"
*In rapid Chinese
"Is It Time To Bring Back The Synchronized Swimming Musical?"
Yes.
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of the 4x100 Meter Relay," has a green light.
Harrison Ford is attached to be The Red Hulk in this one, too.
But only as a lifeguard to make ends meet.
I have to admit my knowledge of Jamaica and Jamaican heritage is pretty limited.
I know about the Beautiful Caribbean Island, Raggae music, Usain Bolt, Bobsled team, former home to many plantations using slave and indentured labor forces and people whose ancestry is rooted in that slave trade nightmare.
So thank you Ms. Harris for introducing me to your amazing father, an Emeritus Professor of Economics at Stanford University.
https://youtu.be/lQFKMar4x-w?si=k9TdIi63XsKdNwJ0
Yeah! Jamaican Bobsled Team! U should make a movie.
Waaay back in the eighties in upstate NY I had the honor to be the token white boy guitarist in a reggae band. Everyone else was Jamaican. I lasted five years in that outfit and I look back on those times with great happiness. I learned a little bit about Jamaican culture. Lots of fun!
Like 🎶
like.
And hopefully, good food.
Lots of rice and peas and curry goat!
I stayed at Runaway Bay for a couple of weeks in the early 90s.
That's where all the slavers ran away to be slaughtered by the Jamaicans.
It's the sort of thing they should mention when you book your honeymoon there.
Sugar time, Honeybunch, I can't help myself...
I've gotten the chaos of the kitchen cabinet containing storage dishes, mixing bowls, miscellaneous measuring, sifting, and sieving containers cleaned out and properly organized. paul bought some new Pyrex storage bowls so I was finally able to retire a set of plastic containers that had seen better days to the recycling bin. A few respectful words were said over the expired, stained, dented, mismatched recyclable dishes as they were stacked for the last time.
Then I cleaned out the drawer where we keep foil, sandwich bags, saran wrap, and larger zip lock storage bags. For the life of my I do not know why paul felt it necessary to keep two empty storage bag boxes in there but they're now reposing within the recycling bin. The floor is thoroughly swept, the counters all scrubbed down, the sink cleaned and fresh, the recycling bin cleaned up and organized and under the sink scrubbed clean and sanitized. All that's left that I have to get done is attending to Ripper's cat-a-loo.
I hope like hell that it cools off enough to allow me to get the vacuuming done pretty soon. The stairs leading down to the lower level are a mess.
So much work!
Were you working by yourself?
And if so how long did that take ...?
Entropy.
You've been very busy lately!
I had to get relentless and recycle a bunch of lidless containers (and container less lids) a while back. Weird how sad it makes you. 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant' and so on. Just as long as they aren't reborn as <shudders> Tupperware.
Yay for Pyrex!
There's no such thing as a plastic microwaveable container that doesn't stink like food after a couple of reheating of food cycles.
Lasts forever, plus iron skillets
But, then, Commerce.
Sad.
I bought a set at COSTCO like 10 years ago - because of frequent use - wore out the snap on lids - and just replaced several of the lids inexpensively - buying directly from Pyrex
I'm a hyooge fan of their 9" pie dishes, too.
I do a lot of graham cracker crusts and it makes it super easy to see where I need to add more buttery crumbs.
I gotz those too!!