Takin' the Blog for a Walk

Kobe sliders

2008-10-05T15:04:46Z

Mom stopped in by me the other day and offered a ride home. Curious timing, I'd just used my last bus ticket that morning and hadn't bought more because they were out. Because she hadn't seen inside the new hotel yet, we wandered the block and a half to the Iron Horse after I was done with work at 5:00.

I wanted to tell her all about it, but kept quiet when told we could hook up with an official tour. The hotel rooms themselves were something I didn't get to see during my brief previous tour, so I was anxious to get started. We sat at the bar sipping a couple drinks, trying to be patient. She thought it still smelled too strongly of varnish. I said if they just allowed smoking, after a while no one would notice the varnish.

It wasn't long before a lovely waitress balancing plates of food appeared. She carried small Kobe beef burgers topped with crab meat she called "sliders" and bowls of popcorn shrimp mixed with kettlecorn popcorn. Caught in a trap! Lured by a tour, we'd be talked into buying expensive food we didn't want while waiting for the "free" tour to start.

Even though I've never tasted Kobe beef, I didn't even want to know what they were charging. Couldn't afford it. Mom did want to know, however, and the answer was it was all free. Not only was the burger among the best I've tasted, but in a few minutes someone else arrived with a large bowl of fancy potato chips made with truffle oil and parmesan cheese. I'm more of a Ruffle oil chip kind of guy, but if the price is right... Oh, and what is truffle oil and what's it doing on potato chips?

We speculated the food was free because they were looking for a little word-of-mouth advertising - a little mouth-watering advertising. Maybe they were just getting the kitchen up and running in preparation for tomorrow's full opening of "Branded". Either way, I detected no difference in chips with truffle oil, and will just stick to Ruffles with French onion.

The tour wasn't a letdown after our little meal. We stopped in the library and were told guests could remove books for free and replace them with something different - on the honor system. Surprising considering some of the offerings. The seven of us then went downstairs to see the 100 year old boiler room where the 36 person hot tub is going to be and some large original paintings.

Later exiting the elevator at one of the upper floors, zebra-striped carpeting, and the story behind it, greeted us. The room we toured had a single luxurious queen-sized bed with an animal hide covering the bench at the foot of it. The bathroom shower had a very large rain head as well as a conventional. The shower was encircled by glass - so much so that anyone in the bedroom could see silhouettes through the opaque glass of the person showering. We were told all rooms don't share this feature.

Mom and I enjoyed a surprisingly good, and well-nourished, tour. Everything in the building seems compatible with a pleasant stay. If only we had an extra few hundred dollars lying around...

The Great Spirit's money problems

2008-09-28T22:05:04Z

I've been to the Congregation of the Great Spirit a couple times since I documented my first visit here almost two years ago. I think about them every time I'm running late for mass, which is 9 times out of 10, because their service doesn't begin until everyone gets there. Something mine should consider.

A national radio report on the Congregation this morning interested me because one of my short-term goals is to get there again, soon. We're told the Congregation is the nation's first Catholic parish to combine Native American traditions with Roman Catholic ceremony; hard to believe when you consider the Catholic missionary work in this country going back hundreds of years.

The point of the report was to mention the funding cut by the Milwaukee Archdiocese, which could potentially destroy the parish. It's in a poorer area around 10th and Lapham, and it ministers to some of the poorest in the area: street people, alcoholics, jobless.

It would be a shame to lose such a unique parish, one of only a handful similar to it in the country. The answer might be to solicit donations from Potowatomi Casino, though I'm pretty sure the Archdiocese wouldn't be too keen on that idea.

Hotel's finally open!

2008-09-24T04:36:00Z

The boutique hotel is open. A little late for Harley's 105th, but getting the tax credits and rehabbing a 100+ year old building took more than planned. Parking has been tight the last few months but the wait's finally over.

On my short tour this morning I was impressed by all the old, restored, recycled and reused items in the hotel. The pool table from the 1800s is beautiful. Bar tables with used gears for the base, chairs recycled from an architectural school. An apothecary cabinet, old toys, a cathedral's window. Most impressive is how well the elements of the building were incorporated into the hotel's theme. Even the building's porticos lended their design to the hotel's insignia. Sliding doors and dock doors were refinished and prominent, as is brickwork and wood floors. 300 to 400 year old hemlock beams were saved as-is or remade into furniture.

My work is so close to the hotel that we were able to lease shop space and parking lots to them. Our building is similar in age with similar wood beams so I was anxious to see what they did with theirs. The restaurant isn't open yet but everything else appears complete. There's a neat library with fireplace where people can meet and have coffee. The windows are huge and double pane. The interior is open with high ceilings. I didn't see any bedrooms but bar, restaurant, lobby, meeting room and library all look fantastic.

The Iron Horse Hotel is at the south end of the Sixth Street Viaduct in Walker's Point just three blocks south of the Harley Museum. Take a peek if you're ever in the neighborhood.

a golden delicious Saturday for Retzer's festival

2008-09-22T04:24:23Z

The weather was Prima. Thousands of happy people came to Retzer Nature Center to celebrate the apple harvest with a Royal Gala... or a Honey Crisp, Cortland or Molly's Delicious.

We started the day by slicing hundreds of apple pies and crisps, and had people asking for it before we were done at 9:00 a.m.. After that it was a steady stream of customers, which soon stretched out the door and down the hall. I felt the prices were very fair for what they got, and happily took their money until I was relieved as cashier around 1:00.

I bought a slice to experience the sweet taste of accomplishment, and it was good. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the pies that so many people worked hard to produce.(They were baked right there at Retzer.) Apple Jam also entertained the folk with folk tunes while they ate their caramel apples and pie slices.

The scarecrows this year were great!

Wagon rides only a buck.

I bought a selection of the largest apples I could find among the 50 or so varieties. All the apples could be purchased for 50 cents each, or by the peck or half-peck, except Honey Crisp were a dollar, and they sold out first. The largest apple I could find was the 20 Ounce Pippin, a good baking apple.

defending your right to make a difference

2008-09-17T04:12:00Z

I spent 16 hours in a library a week ago and didn't pick up a single book... For you.

I was a Fourth District poll worker from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. A long day, but worth it. Getting in practice for November 4th, where the hours are going to be even longer and could even be slightly busier.

Last Tuesday there was a close race between two able Democratic candidates for the 97th District State Assembly in the primary. Because less than ten votes separated them we still don't have a certain winner. Both Ruth Page Jones and Steve Schmuki have likeable qualities and they both worked very hard to get out the vote.

The 4th Aldermanic District I'm in has three wards, but only two are in the 97 Assembly District. Two out of the three wards received several absentee votes. Can you guess which wards? All the absentee ballots we had on Tuesday were counted Tuesday by us. If the canvass seemed to be taking longer than it should, my guess would be the clerk was waiting to make sure the post office wasn't going to be delivering any more of the absentees.

I voted absentee in the last Presidential, then went over to the polling place anyway towards the end expecting to see a still long line. I saw almost no people in line around 8:00. I expect it to be different this November. To make my job easier, and your wait shorter, you could consider voting absentee. You don't need to prove you can't get to the polls, just call City Hall and ask for a ballot.

Same goes for registering. Last Tuesday just three people registered all day. I'll tell you right now come November there will be a steady stream of new registrants who waited until the last minute. It's important to note that people can register now at the Public Library or City Hall.

As mentioned earlier, my son just turned 18. I would've liked to see him register and vote last week. I called home a couple times to encourage it. He was afraid that if he'd vote he'd become a potential jury member. Little did he, or I, know that by being a licensed driver he already is a potential jury member. Maybe he didn't think he could make a difference. Maybe 8 votes of separation seems like a lot to him, but I doubt it.

Poll workers are needed for the November 4th election. You don't have to work all day. Contact Gina at 524-3547 or gkozlik@ci.waukesha.wi.us Hope to see you there.

apple pie anyone?

2008-09-14T21:18:58Z

I'll be selling apple pie slices from 9:00 to noon next Saturday the 20th at Retzer Nature Center's 22nd Annual Apple Harvest Festival, and you're invited to buy some. Keep me busy.

Last year the weather was great and a good crowd turned out for this applicious event. There will be all sorts of crafts for kids, horse drawn hayrides, planetarium show, over 50 varieties of apples and cider. A couple of concerts are lined up: Folk group Apple Jam from 11:00 to 1:00 and Celtic ensemble Tairis from 2:30 to 4:30. There also will be Johnny Appleseed, scarecrows, essay and apple pie judging and a silent auction.

The fest runs from 9:00 to 5:00 and food will be available all day. Because the apple prices are relatively low, many varieties of those and the cider ran out last year. Get there early.

Retzer is at the west end of Madison Street just before it intersects with DT. The number is 896-8007. Admission is $5.00, unless you're volunteering, (and they're still looking for a few of those too.)

runnin' on red

2008-09-13T03:04:44Z

My oldest says people in Waukesha sure run a lot of red lights. I said that's nothing compared to Milwaukee.

A co-worker recently purchased a beautiful new 2008 car after years of mechanical problems with their old one. This morning he told the story of getting hit last night on the way home from work. A woman ran a red and clipped the front of the car on his side. His wife was driving. The woman didn't think police should be called but a witness from a nearby auto dealership suggested they do it anyway.

By now the drill is all too familiar. Plates not matching the vehicle. License revoked... If it weren't for the police showing up she wouldn't have been nabbed for the bottle of pills and bag of weed she tossed from the car.

And my fellow co-worker has yet to make his first car payment.

Two days ago I was racing my bike on Sixth St. past the Harley Museum after work. I was trying to catch the next bus to Waukesha so I wouldn't miss the talk by Wisconsin's first female lieutenant governor,which was held at St. William's. I didn't stop for the just-turned red because an SUV in the intersection was turning, thus blocking all traffic from the intersecting Canal Street. Little did I expect a full-size van, doing around 40 and heading south on Sixth, to shoot the red with the turning SUV in it's sights.

The van saved wear and tear on it's brakes by just swerving around the SUV. Unfortunately for me, that meant he was swerving in my lane and heading toward me at about 40 mph. If my heart wasn't already racing from the bike ride...

I made it to the talk in one piece. Very nice woman. Energetic and enlightening. What a great speaker. Worth every risk I took getting there.

shower time for Swiss swine

2008-09-09T02:14:21Z

Thanks to a new 175 page animal rights law in Switzerland pigs now have a legal right to shower and freshen up after getting muddy. What about privacy? Will they have individual stalls along with their choice of scented beauty bars? Next time this law comes up for review maybe someone could suggest aromatherapy and bubbles in the bathwater.

I'm not making this up; Fishermen can no longer use live bait or practice catch and release in Switzerland either. I suppose the worms would feel too much pain when the bluegill bites into it.

Parrots and hamsters may no longer be kept by themselves and live goldfish can not be flushed. I can see a future hamster overpopulation, and when junior's fish floats belly up they better make sure it's really dead before getting rid of it or risk a fine.

the fuzzy line between form and function

2008-09-08T03:41:00Z

The Nineteenth Annual Waukesha Art Fest couldn't have had a better weekend. The weather was as gorgeous as some of the works. With cool temps and a breeze it was perfect bike riding weather, so Schwinn and I swerved our way past multiple potholes to see what was going on in Cutler Park yesterday.

I was pleasantly surprised by the variety. Forty artists from Wisconsin, and one each from Florida and Illinois. Eleven diverse areas of creativity; glass, fiber, painting, etc. Much of what we saw was useful as well as beautiful. The copper ornamental garden sprinklers of Jerry Ross - nice to look at while an attempt was made to bring back the trampled grass at Cutler Park. The plaque with nicely-lettered, thoughtful poetry that's also a picture frame. Clothing as art and, of course, ceramics - nice to display on a shelf, but also fun to use as bowls, candle holders, etc.

Of my more favorite local art, Jill Verbick's large, vibrant pastels are always eye pleasing. But the visiting Wisconsin artists who held me captive were the couple from Mt. Horeb, Sara and John Lash.

Sara and John's booth was rather spare and simple. A small white saucer represented their entire porcelain inventory. The woodwork; turned bowls and other delicate, oiled pieces, were represented only in the pages of an album. John did mention that he sold a few pieces, but the only things that remained around the 5:00 closing were metal objects. Even though many stamped owls hung in the air, the things that caught my eye, and ear, were the gongs. A four foot industrial gong made from a discarded scuba tank greeted browsers to his booth with a long, loud tone. Other gongs sat on a shelf. One of the gongs was made out of an old fire extinguisher and was suspended by an automobile leaf spring, another was with the Japanese kanji for "dream" welded on it and suspended by rebar.

While there were a couple of other pieces, a welded-wire bowl and torch-cut tree sculptures for instance, I was most interested in sound as art and, if they ever introduce Tibetan singing bowls, sound as prayer and meditation.

I became even more interested in the couple's art after I visited their website, www.elementsarts.com. Besides learning how and where the couple grew up and met, it was interesting to note that as much of their material as possible is recycled from dumps or scrap yards and are finished in the most ecologically friendly way. Also interesting to note that all profits from sales of the welded-wire bowls go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. (I was guessing they must know someone with MD, but it turns out John himself has a form of it.)

My Uncle Lee used to use found and discarded objects in his welded art years ago, and John Lash's art reminded me of him. It's a pleasant memory.

a series of fortunate events

2008-09-06T03:37:35Z

It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling so I'll tell the story.

Bought a set of cargo straps at Walmart Monday to replace the ones claimed by the Fox in April.

Later in the day I stopped by someone's apartment to ask if I could help haul their things from a storage facility in Elkhorn back to Waukesha for them. They were appreciative because they were told it would be sold if payment wasn't received by Saturday.

Among the items they didn't want to take was a decent twin mattress, so I put it on the van roof, tying it down with the new straps. I didn't need the mattress myself, but with my St. Vincent volunteering I knew there'd soon be a good home for it.

Chanced upon a couch by the curb Tuesday, the second decent one in four days, but by the time I looked at it after work it had rained a little. Plus it sat too low for the person I knew who needed one. It was a terrible waste because it was in otherwise beautiful shape, and was a hide-a-bed.

An hour later I was visiting a family with a friend of mine. We were attempting to help her with furniture through the St. Vincent thrift store, but with the living room bare she and her four kids needed more than we could help with. They also were looking for a mattress. Within what seemed like 20 minutes, but was probably an hour, my friend and I picked up that hide-a-bed and delivered it, with the mattress, to the woman. Everyone was happy.

I helped someone move and kept a mattress they didn't need. The couch was too good to throw out, yet I had no need of it. Less than a day after acquiring the mattress, that and the couch had a new home. It's the ultimate in recycling. The warm feeling is the reward.

Brien Lee turns 18 today!

2008-09-05T11:16:04Z

It's Brien Lee's 18th birthday today. My oldest son is now a man.

Happy birthday Bri. You're a good kid and we love you.

Dad

my banner says "thank you"

2008-09-01T17:10:00Z

If I could hang a banner from an overpass it would read "Thank You". I'd want to show appreciation to the tens of thousands of Harley riders who joined in the celebration of the 105th making it a huge success, and making many businesses in Waukesha very happy.

It's impossible, and probably unnecessary, to try to describe the crowds Downtown, especially Saturday night. Impossible, because I have trouble estimating things that get into the tens of thousands. And no photograph; by the time Montgomery Gentry started playing at 9:30 it was too dark, (wouldn't have mattered, can't squeeze that many people in a photo except from above, way above.) Unnecessary, because judging by the crowd you were probably there. Suffice to say I've never seen so many people in Downtown Waukesha.

Crowd control? You'd think with that many people and that much alcohol things could quickly get out of hand, but I never saw it or heard of it. The police were visible and did an excellent job keeping it under control. The crowds were the best kind: not too rowdy, spent money Downtown and, hopefully, return in five years (or sooner).

Guitar Heroes

2008-09-01T15:33:04Z

One of the more interesting discoveries in Waukesha this weekend was a group set up and playing decent tunes outside Martha Merrill's. The idea of Guitars For Vets started just a year ago when Dan Van Buskirk, a Vietnam Vet with PTSD, related his relief and the healing he felt from music to Patrick, his guitar teacher. In a rather short period of time, through donations and sponsors, this incredible organization now provides six guitar lessons and a guitar to U.S. Military Vets who've suffered trauma and are receiving treatment through the VA system. They are currently working with VA centers in Milwaukee, Madison and Tomah but hope to expand to the Midwest and around the country by next year.

This is taking off so fast because there was nothing else like it and it is helping. Veterans are happier and some are requiring less medication. Picking up a new skill gives them something to practice and improve at. It has tangible results with the possibility they'll maybe share their joy with others. It's "meditation in motion." It's full circle: a vet with PTSD plays music and teaches other vets to play as therapy for himself. The student learns a new skill and enjoys theraputic benefits of music. The new student brings joy to others by performing.

. .

weekend hogservations

2008-08-30T20:35:47Z

The Cutler Park stage is really great. The bands are drawing huge crowds yet there's still room to move without feeling crowded. It's unreal how dark the park gets on moonless nights - and it doesn't help that everyone is wearing black.

I don't recall the last time downtown streets were closed for a flood of people instead of a flood of river. It's Friday Night Live all weekend long, free music and lots of people strolling. Stores open late and doing good business.

Lots of sightseeing. Every bike is personalized in some way. I haven't seen any other countrys besides Canada represented. I saw a group from Japan five years ago at Rider's Ranch. This year there is no Rider's Ranch at the Expo.

It's amazing how loud a custom chopped bike can be. Fortunately my own neighborhood has been quiet. Even my younger bike-riding neighbors haven't been partying at all hours.

The best bargain around for $2.00 is a 15 ounce bag of Pinas Chris Mix found in a tent at Riverfront Plaza. The second best $2.00 is spent on a snowcone. The snowcone syrup wasn't very sweet, but it was a fundraiser for a good cause, Salvation Army, it was a warm day, and a stranger thanked me for buying it when she saw me with it later.

There's a Harley-Davidson exhibit at the Waukesha County Museum? I waited until this weekend to see the Lennon exhibit because I also wanted to see the bike exhibit. There were a few photos of bikes and Harley family members, even a bike or two, but the main exhibit was the Lennon display. It's too bad the Lennon exhibit alone wouldn't have been enough to attract viewers. It's also too bad that almost no mention was made of a fundraiser for the Les Paul exhibit. But at least something was done and I hope it helps.

Parking hasn't been a nighmare. I parked by the State Bank, the Waukesha Antique Mall and Corrina Blvd., none of which is very far from the action.

And they're saying we need rain. Just not this weekend, please!

rolling thunder

2008-08-28T03:00:44Z

There's a Harley front heading toward us at 65 miles an hour. It's nothing to fear. They will storm our streets and, if we're lucky, will flood our shops and restaurants. Riders from around the world converge to celebrate 105 years of an American institution. (For once we won't have leave town to enjoy their company.) Make them feel welcome and they may return again some day.

Tom's helping hands

2008-08-27T03:52:03Z

I've known Tom for 20+ years. He was in our wedding party 18 years ago and hosted a bachelor party at his house. He's one of the few mechanics who didn't loose their job during last year's restructuring. Because so few mechanics are left, he's been busier than ever, but never too busy for me. He offered to come to Waukesha in April to help me pry my canoe off the bridge support in the Fox River. Recently, he saved me a couple hundred dollars replacing a bearing assembly on our Lumina. He's always been quick with free advice for my many needs. We get along and I consider him a good friend.

I envy Tom. He can build a trailer from the ground up. He has a couple horses and cars that run. He recently purchased a Harley Fatboy Softail motorcycle and took classes for a week to get his license before the 105th.

Tom took vacation days the rest of this week to really experience the thrill of Harley. I gave him a copy of the Weekend in Waukesha schedule and we talked about the things he was looking forward to this week. He told me he has a digital picture frame that holds 250 pictures and he was going to fill it up this week using his camera.

And then Tom hurt his hand today. Bad. His right hand. On a table saw. It's bad enough that Tom makes his living with his hands and will probably miss many weeks of work. But his throttle hand? He's going to miss most of what he's been looking forward to this week. Maybe if he's lucky, people will feel sorry for him and buy him a drink. I know I would.

running low on gas

2008-08-25T05:25:54Z

The 2008 Olympic flame has run out of gas. The games have been like a broken record ... world and olympic records broken over and over. There was much to see and enjoy these last 16 days, but I could fill this spot with all I would've liked to see but didn't. Didn't because of my own schedule, but also because coverage of the less popular sports was, again, often hard to find. Five channels with at least some Olympic coverage and often there was either nothing or some lengthy event like a two hour marathon or nine inning baseball game. My attention span isn't that long.

Even so, I enjoyed these games more than others. I enjoyed the selection NBC chose for me to watch and the Chinese did a fantastic job in hosting the Olympics. It's been said that possibly close to a million volunteers helped with the games and I believe it. Everywhere I looked I saw volunteers doing something or guarding something.

The air pollution didn't seem to be as big a factor in the outdoor events. Maybe some of the Beijing factories were closed for two weeks? Maybe everyone with cars were told to park them? I've heard stories about trouble makers being kept out of Beijing during the games, but what about the others? Over a billion people in China and you'd think there would have been more spectators lining the streets and canals for the races. I couldn't help but feel we were presented with a certain image, and after learning some of the fireworks from the opening ceremony were digitally inserted I couldn't watch the closing ceremony the same way.

Of the many controversies with these games, one of the biggest has to be the supposed ages of the Chinese girl's gymnastics team members. Basically, they were supposed to be 16 by this year and several looked a couple years shy of that. A bigger controversy should have been the Chinese gymnastic training itself, where, often, three year old girls are removed from their families to begin training and, we are told, aren't allowed to quit and go back home if they don't like it.

Ran low on gas this morning. Was up to hot air balloon crew at 4:45 and met the others by 5:45. Two balloons launched from Monches, on the northern border of Waukesha County, and floated south at a rather swift 20 or so mph. Even though we had four crew members, the breeze dictated a large landing spot next to a road - not that easy between TT and DT south of Hwy. 18. Finally had to bring it down south of Sunset on Wren Way, in chest high soaking wet grass, before the propane totally ran out - approximately 25 miles from where we began.

Driving all the way back to Monches for a champaign toast - the woman had given this balloon ride to her husband for a first wedding anniversary gift. Didn't get back home until about 9:45, five hours after I woke up.

After a parish picnic at Minooka Park at noon I was the one running out of gas. I did finally get my first glimpse of the dog area in the park though and I was very impressed. I saw very many happy people on benches in the shade, throwing things for their pets and generally having a good time. I also saw very many happy dogs. I left with a very positive feeling of the place.

old and new

2008-08-20T05:09:00Z

Quite the local news day. Happy Days cast was in Milwaukee for an unveiling, parade and ball game. Governor Doyle in Milwaukee for a ribbon cutting for the opening of the Marquette interchange. Hours of Common Council discussion on the Northwoods League plans. It's after midnight now with no end to the discussion in sight. The public comment before the council meeting alone went to 9:45.

Bronze Fonz. New statue for a 70's show set in the 1950s.

A restored steam train has been hanging around the Intermodal Station for several days. The backdrop of the blue beams from the new Marquette Interchange make an interesting juxtaposition with the old black steam engine.

lost in the "woods"

2008-08-17T00:13:00Z

The first time I took my youngest to his friend's in the City of Pewaukee, we had to call for directions. My son's written directions omitted a crucial turn and we ended up in Brookfield. She talked us through each of 8 or so turns and we finally found her house, though it did make me a little late for my next ballooning adventure.

Because the route I was given to find my way out of the maze was so much simpler, we've been using it ever since. It will take a few more trips before we leave the cell home, but at least we don't have to pack a light snack and top off the tank before visiting any more.

As everyone is aware, some developers use themes in their street names. Trees, presidents, cities, flowers, states... you name it. And the always popular Third St., Fourth, etc. It obviously helps with directions when north-south streets are one related theme and east-west another.

There's an interesting neighborhood in Pewaukee I first encountered years ago. There's a Camelot Dr., King Arthur's Court, Merlin Way and Valiant Dr. Also Galahad Lane and Lancelot Drive. My son's friend's subdivision is across Springdale Road from that one; Sprindale Estates.

Every road name in Springdale Estates ends in wood. There's Aspenwood, Alderwood, Briarwood, Beechwood, Burnwood, Burningwood, Birchwood, Cherrywood, Cedarwood, Emberwood, Elmwood, Fernwood, Foxwood, Graywood, Glenwood, Hickorywood, Indianwood, Lindenwood, Maplewood, Meadowood, Oakwood, Pinewood, Peachwood, Redwood, Ridgewood, Rosewood, Shadywood, Stonewood, Springwood, Timberwood and, finally, Willowood.

After multiple times getting lost in the "woods," I recently learned Springdale Estates is the largest subdivision in Wisconsin. At one mile by 3/4 mile, it didn't surprise me at all and made me feel less bothered by all the times we had to call for directions.

One one-hundredth of a second!

2008-08-16T14:09:00Z

It's the Olympics of TV watching and I've seen so much I'm starting to cramp up. After sprinting up the dial from 4 to 27 to 34 and 46, I do a triple-back salto to 27 then nearly dislocate my thumb trying to avoid a commercial. When the final results are in, I learn I could've placed if only I'd vaulted over to channel 73.

I'm watching the best Olympics ever. I have four or five channels to choose from - but only on weekends. Primetime coverage during the week is limited to Channel 4 so we have to watch commercials and all the events NBC thinks we want to see. Fortunately, some of the commercials aren't half bad (though repetition doesn't do anything for them,) and the events shown have been exciting and probably what I'd be watching if given the choice.

It's Michael Phelps' Olympics this year. He's now tied with Mark Spitz for the most gold in a single Olympics and has already won more total gold than anyone else. He's broken 6 world records with his first 6 gold medals and only the Olympic record with the last win. Each time he swims there's excitement in the air and I've been fortunate to see many of his races live in primetime. He's so amazing he's broken two world records within an hour or two on more than one occasion, and never seems out of breath.

Phelps usually surprises by coming from behind to win it in the last few meters. The four-man freestyle relay was a nail-biter because Phelps wasn't in the anchor position and France led most of the way. Fortunately Americans were in the lead where it mattered - in the end - and they succeeded in helping Phelps in his ultimate goal of 8 gold in one Olympics.

They said last night's 100-meter butterfly would be close. It wasn't Phelps' best event and he was swimming next to the record holder in the event, Serbian Milorad Cavic, but the way Michael's been swimming there should be no worry, right? If Michael were to have a chance at 8 gold he'd have to win all eight of his events, including this one. Cavic lead the entire race and, as you've probably heard, was edged out at the end by a fingernail's distance, 1/100th of a second. Phelps took a risky half stoke while Cavic glided in on a too-long full stroke. Unbelievable.

I've never seen so many world records fall. (The green world record graphic line is so cool.) And I'm sure I've never seen a closer race than yesterday's 100m butterfly. Even though the results were contested, high speed video was slowed to a ten-thousandth of a second to confirm the win.

If I don't write more about the seeming obsession of cameras in the faces of American women gymnnasts while they're waiting to perform, instead of them focusing on something actually happening... If I don't write about volleyball so competitive that the ball hardly volleys at all... If I don't write about the winner of the men's 50 meter swim who didn't seem to take even one breath in the twenty-two seconds it took to finish the race... If I don't write about the athletes with local ties, like the Hamms and Chelsie Memmel, who I wanted to see more of but couldn't because of injury... If I don't mention 41 year old swimmer Dara Torres who wins races against those 25 years younger... It's because I'm watching the Olympics!