"Where every concept pleases, and only man is vile."
The boys and I have just enjoyed a nice quiet weekend. Whilst SWMBO enjoyed herself at a cheap little place up the coast the boys and I have:
Now I need a sit down.
As the sporting focus of 2008 comes to a close I think it is time I shared with you a theory I have been working on. In the spirit of clarity, and as a fairly good wind up, I have been trying to work out what exactly is a sport.
Ordinarily, as a good Englishman this isn’t a problem because the answer is always "cricket, and everything else is for oiks" but bearing in mind that I now live in Australia and some of the local obsessions have been rubbing off on me (except for the thing with the marsupials, which will never feel right to me) I have been forced to rethink and revise my position. So during these 17 days of the 2008 Olympics whenever one of the 38 sports being contested is shown on TV I have been raising a perennial question – "but is it a sport?".
I’ve long been harbouring a theory which I know I stole, I just can’t remember where from, and it has been holding up well enough recently to this scrutiny that it is time I put it on the web for you all to wonder at and agree with.
Todd’s law of sport states that if it needs a judge to to decide who wins it isn’t a sport.
Harsh, but fair, I think you’ll find. I welcome any corollaries in the comments below.
Update: Just as I wrote that I happened to glance at the BBC live page for today’s events in Beijing only to read this – "1245: Anon (see below), I think the valid reason was summed up inadvertantly by the Canadian commentator on the synchro final. When the Spanish team hit the pool, she remarked on how they “draw you in emotionally”. How can you have a sport in which the judges are affected emotionally? That’s not sport, that’s theatre."
People, there is good news about. The local purveyors of that hideous slop that the Americans call coffee is shutting most of their Australian stores. With a bit of luck my fellow Australians will stay away from the remaining stores in droves and they will shuffle off back to the land of the styrofoam cup. Well, a chap can hope.
I, meanwhile, will be buying my daily skinny cappuccino at a decent coffee shop for local people.
People, good news. Ben Folds has a new record coming out called “Way to Normal”. It’s out in September, remarkably close to my birthday. Hearing this news has made my day. For more information check out the details in an interview in the (previously unknown to me) magazine called Paste.
After a quick weekend trip to the Blue Mountains (where SWMBO only tried to kill me to death by hypothermia) this weekend we celebrated MIGO’s 3rd birthday in the traditional fashion with cake and fire.
If you look closely you can see that the birthday boy is wearing his present from his grandparents. He hasn’t taken off the superman suit since unwrapping it on Tuesday. Which is frankly a bit worrying and will soon be a little too smelly. I shall have to start a psychological campaign to convince him to take it off.
All, after being off the inter-web-net for most of the last six weeks we are now back online and talking to you via a much ‘fatter’ pipe (ooh err missus, etc.)
Which means that we may finally be able to converse with people in the mother country via this here computer. I’ve downloaded and fired up Skype and if you want to call me send me an email and I’ll let you know my user name.
Today marks the occasion of JFGP‘s fifth birthday. To celebrate here is a photograph that I didn’t take today. He had a great day, with presents galore and a full family birthday tea.
This morning he went to clown town and this afternoon he had his hair cut in the local salon, for an amount of money that would keep me in haircuts for about six months. I’m not saying our children are pampered or anything but I’m busy figuring out how I can swap places with them.
Powered by Twitter Tools.
Powered by Twitter Tools.
Powered by Twitter Tools.