Phelps Is Still King

The news of Michael Phelps' 4th place finish in the 400 IM on Saturday hurt. It may sound silly but I felt like I had been betrayed by a good friend. Phelps has been so inspirational to me and many swimmers over the last 12 years. To see him not as sharp as you know he can be is painful. To see him lose once to Ryan Lochte in the Olympics and then have the media crown Lochte as the new king of swimming is inexcusable though. I really want to like Lochte but I just continue to struggle with his so-called carefree attitude, which really only comes across as arrogance to me. I mean, the guy designed his on shoes so when they are wet and he walks on dry pavement their tread mark is Ryan on one foot and Lochte on another. So cool, I mean lame.

Tonight though the new "king of swimming" couldn't hold onto a body length lead as anchor in the 4 free relay. It was a stunning lead for the Americans, and it all slipped away through Lochte's fingers. In my book, Lochte was not yet the new king and I hope those who thought he was have relegated him to prince for now.

The Middle of Nowhere

Romney had a gaffe today about the London Olympics. In an interview with Brian Williams of NBC, Romney questioned London's readiness to host the Olympics. Romney's decision to insult the host country while in that country, the first to host him in his first major international trip since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee is most unfortunate for him. Like other gaffes, this will blow over eventually, but I just loved Prime Minister David Cameron's response. From The Guardian:

David Cameron wasted no time in rebuking Romney hours after his remarks were broadcast. On a visit to the Olympic Park, the prime minister said: "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."

That hurts a little.

A Streaking Good Time

A streaker disrupts the Olympic torch relay in England. Click the link for video.

A Sequel to Judge Dredd?

Judge Dredd (1995) was such an excellent movie. I don't know why it took 17 years to make a sequel. 


http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/dredd/


Seriously? This looks so bad.

Streep v. Davis

After watching The Help I felt like Viola Davis was snubbed at the Oscars when Meryl Streep won for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. For me, Davis was captivating and won me over immediately with the strength of her performance as a Mississippi maid (Aibileen) in the 1960s. Davis perfectly evoked the stoicism necessary of generations of black women and men to have in order to get through those especially horrible times for our country. You rooted for her all the way and, in the end, when Aibileen's huge risk paid off, it was easy to celebrate. Going into it, I was worried The Help was going to be a sappy chick flick, but it was not. It was honest, funny, and Davis, among others, was captivating and awe-inspiring. She deserved the Oscar. There wasn't a better performance. There couldn't have been. 


Well, that was before I watched The Iron Lady a few nights ago. From the first scene Streep appeared in, portraying an old, frail Thatcher suffering from dementia, it was clear I was going to see something very special. The ease with which Streep portrayed Thatcher, from the voice to her mannerisms, belied the staggering amount of work that Streep must have taken on to trick the viewer into thinking they were watching a real-life documentary on the Iron Lady. I didn't even find it necessary to compare Streep's Thatcher to the real thing. Streep just was Thatcher in all those huge moments of her life, when she declared to Denis Thatcher, her husband (played by Jim Broadbent), that she would be running for leader of the party, or when she led during the Falklands War, or when she took her last stroll out the front door of 10 Downing Street. In The Help, there was a strong supporting cast and the story itself had a much more complete arc to it than The Iron Lady, which was carried aloft by Streep. I am not sure that The Iron Lady would have been a movie if they hadn't signed Streep, but I do know that it wouldn't have been the same movie without her. Streep, remarkably and without a doubt, deserved the Oscar this year. 

This Is How I Feel When I Finish Finals

...And of course when I out touch someone.


Click here. 

TPM - David Carr Interview

David Carr, journalist at the New York Times, was interviewed by TPM this week. I think Carr's take on journalism is a refreshing voice in the cacophony of talking heads on TV and the bad habit of news organizations to merely link to and summarize articles written by some other news organization. I'm looking at you, HuffPo. 


Good interview. Worth the read. Click it.

Bond, James Bond

You can tell it is the last two weeks of the quarter and I have three papers looming over me. My words are going elsewhere and I have quite a string of video posts going. Here is another one, the teaser trailer for the new James Bond movie, Skyfall.

Another Big Wave, Why Not?

A 90-footer off of Portugal.

Behold

Surfing at Teahupoo, from Chris Bryan films. Amazing! There's a mighty God behind those waves.

The Dictator on The Daily Show

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Admiral General Aladeen
www.thedailyshow.com
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Watch To The End

The Daily Show
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Brilliant.

I'm Ready

Na Pali Coast

I am not a huge fan of hyperbole, but sometimes it just works. To say that the Na Pali coast is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen is very accurate. I have never seen a coast so beautiful and while I enjoy the mountain scenery in Colorado it doesn't compare to this place. We took a three-hour cruise along the coast one afternoon and it was the best use of our time while on Kauai. The Nikon's shutter got a great workout. The drinks were flowing and the company was excellent. I was so happy that I think I was walking around the boat with a permanent smile. I am sure I looked very stupid. The Na Pali coast alone is worth going to Kauai, which has much more than this, but this very well could have been the highlight of the whole week for me. I can tell you it wasn't the most memorable moment. That came later in the week when I didn't really expect it and hopefully I can sit down and actually write well to tell that story. Obviously, that time is not now, but enjoy the pictures.

This picture was taken shortly after we left Port Allen, from where most Na Pali cruises leave.

Well into our cruise, I spotted this solo kayaker with a fishing rod and an umbrella for a sail. One would not want to kayak the Na Pali solo if one wasn't extremely familiar with the coast and currents. This guy struck me as a local.

The Na Pali shoots out of the water and the green on its cliffs is brilliant.

There are a series of small beaches, most of them accessible from the Kalalau trail, an 11-mile (one way) trail that you need a permit to hike. We only hiked the first two miles, but we both said we would love to go back and do the entire thing. 

The Na Pali coast has been featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. The most famous valley along the coast was featured in Jurassic Park as the helicopter first approaches the island.

The most impressive section of the Na Pali coast. The thinness of these mountains seemed impossible. 

Oh yeah, the boat we were on had 900hp, so when the captain wanted to go somewhere quickly the ocean flew everywhere and filled some pictures with a cool spray.

The mountains here reach heights of 4000+ feet. 

In some spots, the captain was able to take the catamaran in very close to the rocks, even under them in two locations. 

Another crazy formation, which has had to appear in several movies. Just a guess.

An awesome picture of my beautiful wife as the boat maneuvered underneath the cliffs pictured below. When we were under the rocks we could actually see the swirls of the lava frozen in time right over the boat.

I wonder if anyone has jumped off that....

Cloud cover along the Na Pali coast is notorious. The highest point on Kauai, Mount Waialeale, is almost always shrouded in clouds. This makes sense since it is the wettest or one of the wettest spots on Earth, receiving 450 to 600 inches of rain a year.

I'm pretty sure this beach is accessible from the trail, but I didn't see a soul.

There are so many of these valleys that just explode with color and amazing cliff formations.

Un-freaking-believable.

For the Readers and Writers...

Ann Patchett on this year's Pulitzer Prize announcement. Op-Ed in the Times. Worth the read if you read or not.

Kauai Beaches

 Hanalei Bay, the beach featured in much of The Descendants, is one of the biggest attractions on the north shore of Kauai. The waves were perfect this time of year for beginner surfers. We happened to have boogie boards this day and we loved the afternoon we spent here. The rain came and went. The water was perfect. And the waves were just right except I would have preferred a little more size to them.

This is definitely one of my favorites from the entire trip. It stands out among the roughly 710 photos I have left after deleting roughly 275 pictures. At Haena Beach Park.

At Hanakapiai Beach along the Kalalau Trail.

The Maha'ulepa coast. I have a ton of pictures from this area that I'll make a separate post for.

This was the beach right in front of our hotel (the Koa Kea). 

The Land of Enchantment

Kate and I drove to Farmington for a two and a half-day stay with my parents over Easter. It was well worth the drive and the weather was perfect for driving the 285 route to Farmington. Here are some photos from the trip. Above we have Shiprock, near, not surprisingly, Shiprock, NM, which is a bit west of Farmington. It's beautiful and it reminds me a lot of Devil's Tower in Wyoming.

This is part of a ridge (naturally formed) that stands like a wall aimed right at Shiprock.

On our hike I picked up a horned toad once I actually caught the guy. He was fast and hid in thorny plants that I sort of had to hit and kick to get the toad to run out.

My mom found this guy and he wasn't budging...we thought he was hibernating still.

I just felt like taking a couple pictures of my parents' bookcase, which they've had for most of my life. Its shelves are always home to some very familiar, worn books, photos, and small houses. Nate and Brooke are pictured here.

Also on the bookshelves: a collection of dice, marbles, and an old Tonka truck.

Blueberry lemon coffee cake from mom's kitchen. Amazing.

P-squared Posse after Easter service.

Driving home now. The next three pictures are of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. They were stunning on this day.

And The UK, Including England

Ron Burgundy is back. Even the announcement of the movie is freaking hilarious.

Roosters

I honestly don't know if roosters wander around the other Hawaiian islands, but they do on Kauai. They are everywhere you go, but not bothersome, at least not to me. They weren't waking me up and if one happened to run in front of our rental car last week we didn't feel the need to swerve or slam on our brakes in order to save it. (Just for clarification, we didn't run over any roosters while in Hawaii.) Either way, they were sort of fun to watch on occasion and some of them have radical coloring to them and that was cool to see. I should have taken a video of one of them. All I have are these pictures...

More Waves

Both of these pictures were taken near Tunnels Beach on the north shore of Kauai. The waves were impressive here, but also not waves you want to get involved with (at least not in the winter months). There was no one in the water here. Not good enough for locals (they surf out on the reef anyway) and way too dangerous for tourists, which made for another opportunity to soak in the beauty and fire up the camera.